Hellenistic Astrology PDF

HELLENISTIC ASTROLOGY
AS A CASE STUDY OF
„CULTURAL TRANSLATION‟
By
MOONIKA OLL
A dissertation submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of

MPhil(B) in Classics and Ancient History
Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity

College of Arts and Law
University of Birmingham
September 2010
University of Birmingham Research Archive
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ABSTRACT
This dissertation approaches Hellenistic astrology as a case study for 'Cultural translation' in the
Greco-Roman world. 'Cultural translation' denotes here the transition of ideas and knowledge from
one culture to another, making them available in the recipient culture by the „translation‟ in its broader
sense, using recipient‟s own already familiar intellectual and cultural concepts. The spread of Greek
culture and the adoption of non-Greek elements into it during the Hellenistic times resulted in new
hybrid Hellenistic culture based at Alexandria. Around the middle of the 2 nd century BC astrology in
its Hellenized form appeared there as a fully developed set of doctrines that Classical authors argued
to have been the discoveries of the Chaldeans. Astrology, however, was not taken over from Babylonia
per se, but was an assimilation and invention at the same time. This has led some scholars to argue that
Hellenistic astrology was an invention in its own right and its philosophical rational and doctrine of
interpretation are Hellenistic Greek in origin. This dissertation, therefore, aims to discover what was
'Hellenistic' about Hellenistic astrology, to what extent it was a derivation from its Babylonian
predecessor and through that to determine the role of the 'Oriental wisdom' in the Greco-Roman
society.
1
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1
CHAPTER 1
ASTROLOGICAL LITERATURE, AD 0-200 ................................................................................ 5
1.1 PTOLEMY ........................................................................................................................ 5
1.1.1 Structure and content ................................................................................................................ 5
1.1.2 Philosophy................................................................................................................................. 8
1.1.3 Agenda and method ................................................................................................................ 13
1.2 VETTIUS VALENS ........................................................................................................ 16

1.2.1 Structure and content .............................................................................................................. 17
1.3 MANILIUS ..................................................................................................................... 20

1.3.2 Philosophy............................................................................................................................... 21
1.4 DOROTHEUS OF SIDON ............................................................................................. 23

CHAPTER 2
EMERGENCE OF HELLENISTIC ASTROLOGY ...................................................................... 29
2.1 PSEUDOEPIGRAPHIES................................................................................................ 30
2.1.1 Nechepso and Petosiris ........................................................................................................... 30
2.1.2 Abraham .................................................................................................................................. 33
2.1.3 Asclepius and Hermetic astrology .......................................................................................... 37
2.2 HISTORICAL AUTHORS ............................................................................................. 38

2.3 DATING .......................................................................................................................... 39
2
CHAPTER 3
ORIGINS OF HELLENISTIC ASTROLOGY .............................................................................. 43
3.1 BABYLONIAN ASTROLOGY ..................................................................................... 44
3.2 BABYLONIAN ELEMENTS IN HELLENISTIC ASTROLOGY ................................ 50
3.3 ASTRONOMY AND MATHEMATICS ......................................................................... 55
3.4 PHILOSOPHY ................................................................................................................ 58
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................. 61
BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................... 66
APPENDIX ONE……………………………………………....................MEMORY STICK
APPENDIX TWO………...…………………………………....................MEMORY STICK
APPENDIX THREE………...………………………………....................MEMORY STICK
APPENDIX FOUR…………………………………… ……....................MEMORY STICK
3
ABBREVIATIONS
BNJ Worthington, I (ed.), 2007-date, Brill’s New Jacoby , online: Brill

(http://www.brillonline.nl)
CCAG Cumont, F., Boll, F., Kroll, W. et al. (eds), 1898-. Catalogus Codicum Astrologorum
Graecorum, 1-12, Brussels.
FGrH Jacoby, F. Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker, Berlin 1926-1930, Leiden
1954-1958, online: Brill (http://www.brillonline.nl)
HAMA Neugebauer, O. 1975. The History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy, 1-3, Berlin
and New York.
JHS Journal of Hellenic Studies
JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies
LSJ Liddell, H.G., Scott, R., Jones, H.S and McKenzie, R. 1925. A Greek-English
Lexicon, 9th ed. Oxford.
4
INTRODUCTION
In the Hellenistic period, as Rome became the most direct threat to the Greeks, replacing the
former Persian empire, Greek interest in the cultural and intellectual aspects of Rome and the
Romans declined and focused on the Eastern civilizations. 1 Greek curiosity about Oriental
wisdom was nothing either new or revolutionary and the cross-cultural relations between Greece
and its eastern neighbours during the pre-Hellenistic period have by now been well examined.2
Although Greece was at first considered to have been rather isolated from the Orient and from
Zeller (1856) onwards Greek philosophy was for a long time held to have been self-generated
despite the gradually accumulating contrary evidence, comparisons between Hittite, Akkadian,
Ugaritic and Syrian material and Pre-Socratic Greek philosophic ideas have successfully
demonstrated that the latter had their origins or were at least influenced by the former. 3 Alexander
the Great's conquests from Greece to Afghanistan and Egypt merely renewed and strengthened
these already established contacts. The situation was, nevertheless, a great deal different than
before. Alexander‟s death resulted in the creation of large kingdoms controlled by Greek
monarchies. 4 Greek culture spread in these areas but at the same time Greek and non-Greek
elements became intrinsically fused, producing a new hybrid Hellenistic culture based at
Alexandria. Johnson has noted that 'among the most far-reaching of the achievements of
1
Momigliano 1990: 2, 18.
2
See for example Hegyi 1982 on the relations between Greece and the Orient between the 9 th and 6th centuries
BC, Burkert 1992 on Near Eastern influences in Greece during the Archaic period, West 1971 and Burkert
1962 & 2004 on Oriental influences on Greek philosophy, and West 1997 on west Asiatic elements in Greek
poetry and myths.
3
Burkert 2004: 51.
4
Seleucids in the Middle East, Ptolemies in Egypt, Antigonids in Macedonia, Attalids in Anatolia; and later also
Greco-Bactrian, Indo-Greek and Pontus kingdoms.
1
Alexandria was its ability to take the received wisdom of the Hellenistic world and synthesise it
into new ideas'.5 Thus next to the classic sciences arose what are nowadays called pseudo-sciences,
most notably astrology in its various forms.
This dissertation approaches Hellenistic astrology as a case study for 'cultural translation' in the
Hellenistic world. The term 'Cultural translation' is used in various disciplines, including cultural
studies, political science, literary studies, anthropology, in somewhat divergent meanings,
basically denoting the mediation processes between different cultural practices, the 'translation' of
one culture or its elements within another. As D'hulst has pointed out it is used as a metaphor and
'we cannot be sure that it is underpinned by a common theory, nor that it is being approached in
comparable ways within the disciplines concerned'. 6 For example, Harish Trivedi sees 'cultural
translation' as the 'translation' of the culture of the migrants to the society to which they have
travelled. 7 I, therefore, propose to look at 'cultural translation' from the point of view of the
transition of ideas and knowledge from one culture to another. I have specifically chosen to use
the word 'translation' here, instead of for example transmission or transition, since foreign ideas
were made available to the recipient culture by „translation‟ in its broader sense, using the
recipient‟s own already familiar intellectual and cultural concepts. In addition, as Momigliano has
pointed out, 'Greek remained the only language of civilization for every Greek-speaking man'.8
Hence, the Greeks' lack of proficiency in the relevant languages made them heavily dependent on
the translations of foreigners themselves, just as Trivedi's migrants are responsible for the
translation of their culture into modern western society. Momigliano, however, argues that 'the
natives ... had a shrewd idea of what the Greeks wanted to hear and spoke accordingly ... when
5
Johnson 2000: 143.
6
D'hulst 2008: 221.
7
Trivedi 2007: 6.
8
Momigliano 1990: 8.
2
there was no urgency, utopia and idealization abounded'.9 Thus 'translation' in the Hellenistic
context was not a translation per se, but became a mixture of assimilation and invention, resulting
in the intriguing phenomenon of 'mistranslation'.
Tracing the 'mistranslations' could be one of the best tools for examining the history and processes
of cross-cultural influences in the Hellenistic world. Hence, the study of the connections of
Hellenistic astrology with, and possible derivation from, Babylonian astral omens can be used to
investigate the transition and 'translation' of eastern culture into the western world. However, the
aim of this dissertation is not explicitly to study the contacts between the two civilizations but to
show Greek responses to, and representation of, Chaldean wisdom. It can thus be further used to
examine the cultural expansion of Hellenistic tradition and how its social realities influenced
cultural discourse.
All this is done by moving, rather unconventionally, back in time. The first chapter seeks to
establish a solid understanding of the most important doctrines, methods, and underlying rationale
of Hellenistic astrology by analyzing astrological works written during the first two centuries AD:
the Tetrabiblos of Claudius Ptolemy, Anthologiae of Vettius Valens, Astronomica of Marcus
Manilius and Carmen Astrologicum of Dorotheus of Sidon. Unfortunately, no complete
astrological text from the Hellenistic period has survived. Hence, chapter two, on the rise of
Hellenistic astrology (first two centuries BC), depends solely on the fragments of earlier
astrological authors in later compilations. This chapter aims to give an account of how astrology
and its origins were portrayed in Greek and Roman literature as stemming from Chaldea. Chapter
three finally examines the relationship between Babylonian celestial prognostication (with the
main focus on the period between 600 and 300 BC) and Hellenistic astrology and tries to establish
to what extent the claims made about the Chaldean origin of horoscopic astrology were true.
9
Ibid.
3
David Pingree has remarked that roughly corresponding to the three stages in the evolution of
Mesopotamian astral omens and mathematical astronomy were three periods of transmission of
these sciences, in their contemporary form, to other cultures, where they were usually modified so
as better to suit the need of the recipient civilization. 10 The last chapter thus also seeks to
determine what then were the needs of Greek civilization and the resulting modifications. In
addition, several appendices have been attached to the dissertation on a memory-stick.11
10
Pingree 1982: 614.
11
Appendix 1 includes documents describing the principles of astrology; Appendix 2 an idea-map of Ptolemy's
Tetrabiblos and relevant documents; Appendix 3 fragments of Nechepso and Petosiris, Appendix 4 a timeline
of Stoic philosophers, astrological writers and other relevant authors.
4
CHAPTER 1
ASTROLOGICAL LITERATURE, AD 0-200
The aim of this first chapter is to give the reader a solid understanding of what constituted
Hellenistic astrology. What were its fundamental practices and its underlying philosophical
justifications? It furthermore seeks to establish the agendas and methods of the four authors who
will be examined in this chapter and to see how it reflects the expected mentality of their
audiences.
1.1 PTOLEMY
The main reference work on astrology in ancient and medieval times, the Tetrabiblos 12 of
Claudius Ptolemy, is in many ways the obvious starting point in the study of Hellenistic
astrology.13 Being systematic, well-structured and fairly easy to comprehend, it sums up the state
of astrological knowledge in the second century AD.
1.1.1 Structure and content
In order to get a good overview of the contents and the structure of the Tetrabiblos and to make
the comparison of the doctrines and methods described in it with other astrological texts more
convenient, I have constructed an interactive idea-map. The full version of this map can be found
under Appendix 2.14 Its general appearance with highlighted sectors denoting the contents of the
12
Ptolemy's book is known in Greek both as Apotelematika and Tetrabiblos and in Latin as Quadripartitum.
13
E.g. CCAG 5 (Codicum Romanum) alone has more than 40 fragments mentioning Ptolemy. Hephaistion of
Thebes derived the material for his second book largely from the Tetrabiblos.
14
The map has been constructed by using the Cytoscape programme. Appendix 2 includes the PDF version of
the map and an extra document with explanations of the terms and abbreviations used. See the 'Manual'
5
four books can be seen in illustration 1. A zoomed-in section is shown in illustration 2.
Illustration 1 Illustration 2
The Tetrabiblos, as its traditional name implies, consists of four books. The philosophical
standpoint of the author is laid out first. This is followed by rather concise explanations of the
most important 15 physical and geometrical principles of astrology, including: the divisions of
planets, stars and signs into different categories; the aspects of the Sun and the signs (opposition,
trine etc.); houses and exaltations; terms, places and degrees; faces, chariots and the like. Detailed
descriptions of these principles can be found under Appendix 1.
Book 2 is dedicated to what can be termed 'general' astrology, i.e. the astrology that relates to the
whole races, countries, and cities (cf. Books 3 and 4 deal with 'personal' astrology). Ptolemy
describes how the regions of the world and the characteristics of their inhabitants are influenced
document in the 'Appendix 2' folder for more detailed information on how to use these two documents.
15
Or rather what Ptolemy regards as the most important doctrines. As the next chapter will demonstrate, Ptolemy
has omitted some methods that can frequently be found in other astrological authors.
6
by the heavenly bodies.16 He then moves on to explaining how to make particular predictions
using eclipses, how to determine the time, length and place of the event(s) predicted, the class and
number of those affected (e.g. humans, animals, majority or minority of the population) and
whether the predicted event is productive or destructive. He also discusses the colours of the
eclipses, the appearing of the comets and the new moon of the year. Finally, Ptolemy devotes
three chapters to the forecasting of weather, using the zodiac signs, new and full moons in relation
to the quarters and the atmospheric signs.
Books 3 and 4 deal with genethialogical (i.e. personal) astrology. To predict the future of an
individual it is necessary to find the horoscopic point 17 and the three related points (DESC, MC,
IMC).18 Hence, the methods for finding these have been explained first. Genethialogical science is
then subdivided into four parts: 'one division concerns solely the events preceding the birth (1)...
one deals with the events both before and after the birth (2)... one with the accounts of the very
time of the birth (3)... and finally one treats the post-natal matters' (4).19 The remaining part of
book 3 consists of chapters concerning the details of these four divisions: the parents (1), brothers
and sisters (2), the gender of the native, twins, monsters and babies who do not survive or are
exposed (3), the length of life, the character of the person (bodily form and soul separately) and
the health-problems the native might have (4). Book 4 is entirely concerned with 'external
accidentals', such as material fortune, marriage, and children.
16
See Riley 1988: 74-77 for a thorough discussion on the two slightly conflicting systems that Ptolemy uses. See
Appendix 1 'chorography' for a map of Ptolemy's chorographic system that relates specific countries to
specific zodiac signs. Cf. maps of Manilius' and Dorotheus' systems.
17
I.e. the degree of the zodiac rising above the eastern horizon at a given moment, e.g. the moment of conception
or birth, or in catarchic astrology the moment of commencing the questioned activity.
18
See 'Birth Chart' and 'Ascendant' under Appendix 1.
19
Tetr. 3.3. I am referring to the book and chapter number in the edition of F.E.Robbins (1940), which are
somewhat different from those in the earlier edition of F.Boll and A.Boer. Some authors (e.g. Riley) prefer to
use the latter and alternatively give the page number in Robbins' edition.
7
1.1.2 Philosophy
The Tetrabiblos starts with a discussion on if and to what extent astrological predictions are
possible and necessary. This reflects the rich eclecticism or syncretism that characterizes
astrological cosmology: the rationale of Hellenistic astrology was not based on one school but
embraced elements from different philosophical movements, most notably from the Stoics, the
Peripatetics and the Neoplatonists. Out of these three, modern scholarship has assumed the
influence of Stoicism on philosophical explanations and wider acceptance of astrology (due to the
support that some Stoic philosophers allegedly offered to astrology) to have played the most
decisive role. If and to what extent Stoics actually supported astrology has been debated. Cicero
claims that Diogenes of Babylon (230-150 BC) gave support to astrology but Panaetius (185-109
BC) rejected it. Posidonius, Panaetius' pupil, was allegedly 'greatly devoted to astrology', or at
least so Augustine writes in De Civitate Dei 5.2. Posidonius above all has been credited with the
popularisation of astral divination. Cumont argues that:
More of a theologian than a philosopher, in mind more learned than critical, he

[Posidonius] made all human knowledge conspire to the building up of a great
system, the coping of which was enthusiastic adoration of the God who permeates
the Universal organism. In this vast syncretism all superstitions, popular or
sacerdotal, soothsayings, divination, magic, find their place and the justification;
above all it was due to him that astrology entered into a coherent explanation of
the world acceptable to the most enlightened intellects, and that it was solidly
based on a general theory of nature, from which it was to remain henceforth
inseparable.20
Whether this was the case or not, Stoic belief in determinism was indeed a fundamental
prerequisite for belief in astrology. Stoics had two material principles: (1) that which acts (ηὸ
ποιοῡν) or the active principle and (2) that which is acted upon (ηὸ πάζσον) or the passive
principle. The first can be conceived as God, but not God in the traditional sense. Cicero writes in
De Natura Deorum 1.36 that Zeno, the founder of Stoicism, banished Jupiter, Juno and others
20
Cumont 1912: 48.
8
from the company of gods, 'arguing that they were merely names given symbolically to mute and
inanimate forces' and 'thought that God was to be found in the law of nature, which is powerful to
enforce what is right and to forbid transgressions'. He identified the aether with God and took the
view that the divine power is to be found in a principle of reason which pervades the whole nature.
Further, according to Cicero, Cleanthes, Zeno‟s successor as the head of the Stoa, gave the name
of God 'to the mind and spirit which animates the whole of nature' and actually held the aether
itself to be the supreme godhead.21 And for Chrysippus in turn, 'the divine power was to be found
in reason, and in mind and in consciousness, which pervades the whole universe' and 'the universe
itself is God, an emanation of the divine mind'.22 Thus, Stoics argued that the active principle
came from the aether, a divine fire which pervades everything. This divine fire evolved into the
idea of „breath‟ or pneuma.23 The active principle was believed to be totally blended with the
second principle –matter - which is passive and inert. 24 In other words, Stoics attributed the
movement of matter to the active principle that is the aether (or God or reason or pneuma). This
permeates the whole cosmos and ties all the things in it together, making them interdependent.
The proof for the existence of such sympathy was seen in the influences that extra-terrestrial
phenomena exert on the earth, e.g. the moon causing tides. Sextus Empiricus presents this
important Stoic argument for the unity of the cosmos as a single body:
For in accordance with the waxings and the wanings of the moon many sea and
land animals wane and wax, and ebb-tides and flood-tides occur in some parts of
the sea. And in the same way, too, in accordance with certain rising and setting of
the stars alterations in the surrounding atmosphere and all varieties of change in
the air take place, sometimes for the better, but sometimes fraught with
pestilence.25
21
Cicero De Nat.Deo. 1.37.
22
Ibid. 1.39.
23
Sellars 2006: 90.
24
Sellars 2006: 89.
25
M IX 79 (1.79 in Against the Physicists, trans. R.G. Bury [The Loeb Classical Library] (London and
Cambridge, MA 1936).)
9
Sambursky notes that this causal description of physical phenomena in the cosmic scale evolved
into a conviction that the 'same laws prevail everywhere in a cosmos permeated and ruled by one
unifying pneuma.'26 The Stoics, however, had to find proof for this theory of universal causality.
So they were led to incorporate the vast field of divination into the body of evidence in favour of
their doctrine.27 Long says that this concept of cosmic sympathy 'was to become the first axiom of
philosophical astrology and was constantly cited by Manilius.'28
Moreover, the Stoics argued that the cosmos was a finitely extended living spherical being, a
conscious being29 – rational, animate and intelligent. 30 But as all living beings have a limited
lifespan, so does the cosmos. Thus according to the Stoic theory cosmos is born from the aether
and will again resolve in it at the moment of total conflagration, 31 giving rise to a new cosmos.
The life of the new cosmos will always be identical to its predecessor's. Stoics argued that as the
cosmos is governed by reason, it has the best possible organization, which is repeated in its each
life-cycle. 'Thus,' as Sellars puts it, 'there is eternal occurrence of the same events'. 32 It follows
that all events are fated. However, not all Stoics, especially not Panaetius, accepted this view.33
26
Sambursky 1959: 42.
27
Sambursky 1959: 65-66.
28
Long 2006: 130. See chapter 1.3.1 for discussion on the philosophical standpoint of Manilius.
29
This doctrine lies on assumption that unconscious cosmos cannot give rise to conscious beings. An argument
which itself lies on the microcosm-macrocosm assumption, i.e. that the lesser thing is always shaped after the
superior thing, e.g. that a man is a model of cosmos.
30
Sellars 2006: 86-99.
31
This happens after the passing of the Great Year when both luminaries and all five planets return to the same
position that they had at the beginning of cosmogony. Seneca (Nat.Quest. 3.28.7-3.29) attributed the doctrine
of deluge and ecpyroses to Berossus (see chapter 2.1.2). The fact that the theory of cosmic cataclysms
originated from Babylonia has been generally rejected for a long time due to the lack of any confirming
evidence in Babylonian literature. However, van der Sluijs (2005) has recently suggested that the Neo-
Babylonian text Erra and Išum may possibly prove otherwise.
32
Sellars 2006: 99.
33
Sellars 2006: 94, 99.
10
Ptolemy, likewise, did not accept the Stoic theory of causality on the whole but applied the Stoic
belief that movements of the aether directly affect the sublunary elements with which it is in
contact on the Aristotelian theory of the five elements.34 He used the peripatetic doctrine that 'a
certain power emanating from the eternal ethereal substance is dispersed through and permeates
the whole region about the earth and water and the plants and animals therein35 and thus causes
everything in the cosmos to influence each other. His scientific approach is based on the physical -
the four humours (heat-cold, wet-dry), i.e. the opposition of the qualities of the planets - and
geometrical (e.g. the aspects) principles.36 Usual examples in support of astrological theory are
used.37 Compare the following with the passage from Sextus Empiricus cited above:
For the Sun... is always in some way affecting everything on the earth... The Moon,
too... bestows her effluence most abundantly upon mundane things, for most of
them, animate or inanimate, are sympathetic to her and change in company with
her; the rivers increase and diminish their streams with her light, the seas turn their
tides with the rising and setting, and plants and animals in whole or in some part
wax and wane with her. Moreover, the passages of the fixed stars and the planets
through sky often signify hot, windy, and snowy conditions...38
Ptolemy also paid attention to the arguments directed against astrology. Similarly to our own
times, astrology did not find unconditional acceptance in the Greco-Roman world. The
philosophical grounds of astrology and the deterministic world-view that it presumed created
debates between philosophers. Most notably Posidonius and Cicero took up polemics for or
against astrology.39 This is to be expected, especially considering that 'hard astrology' (i.e. belief
in the movements of the heavenly bodies to be the sole causes of all terrestrial events) created
34
Long 2006: 140.
35
Tetr. 1.2.
36
Riley 1988: 69.
37
Tetr. 1.2.
38
Ibid.
39
A good overview of the arguments used for and against astrology can be found in Long's paper 'Astrology:
arguments pro and contra' (Long 2006).
11
strong objections by freeing men of any moral responsibility (at least in theory). Ptolemy favoured
a 'softer' approach to astral determinism, introducing the idea of the hierarchy of causes, the lesser
causes always yielding to the greater or stronger. He thus argued that 'some things, because their
effective causes are numerous and powerful are inevitable, while others, for the opposite reason,
may be averted'. 40 In other words, some events (of less powerful causes) can be averted or
rendered less severe when remedies, in accordance with nature and fate, are applied.41 This 'softer'
approach to astrology did not entirely dismiss the stars as direct causes, but claimed that the
endless number of variables allowed for man to have control over some areas of his life by using
the stars as his guide. This is distinctly different from Manilius' assertion that every little detail of
every single action that takes place on earth is brought about by the movement of the stars.
Interestingly, however, those Stoics who supported astrology would probably have favoured the
'softer' approach since according to Sambursky, 'Stoics realized that in every given instance one
has to reckon with a multiplicity of causes, since the complex texture of natural phenomena
reduces the conception of one single body acting upon another to a mere abstraction.' 42
Chrysippus used this distinction to argue that human actions can in fact make a contribution to the
outcome of the events in a deterministic cosmos – an argument similar to that of Ptolemy. 43 Most
astrologers, however, with the exception of Ptolemy, who 'approached astrology with a
sophisticated philosophical grounding such as few actual practitioners of astrology could have
possessed' held the heavenly bodies to be the direct causes of terrestrial events.44 Despite the fact
that the Stoics probably never supported Hellenistic astrology to the extent that has been
attributed to them by modern scholars, their theory of cosmic sympathy was successfully
40
Tetr. 1.3
41
See chapter 3.4 for comparison with the Babylonian approach to astral determinism.
42
Sambursky 1959: 54.
43
Sellars 2006: 104.
44
Jones 2003: 340, fn.18.
12
exploited by astrologers.45
1.1.3 Agenda and method
Little is known about Ptolemy's life. Born around AD 100,46 he was an inhabitant of Alexandria
and descended from Greek or Hellenized forebears.47 Toomer has said that:
Living in Alexandria must have been a great advantage to Ptolemy in his work.
Although much declined from its former greatness as a centre of learning, the city
still maintained a scholarly tradition and must at the least have provided him with
essential reference material from its libraries.48
Ptolemy, in addition to gaining from the mathematical, astronomical and other achievements made
in Alexandria during the Ptolemaic era, 49 also had access to, and utilized, Babylonian
astronomical data.
For Ptolemy, astrology seems to have been above all a tool to buttress his general doctrines of
Aristotelian natural philosophy, only a part of the whole. The Tetrabiblos was preceded by the
Almagest 50 (written around AD 150), a manual of ancient mathematical astronomy, which
equipped its reader with the knowledge needed to calculate the motions of the heavenly bodies
and the dates of the various phenomena associated with them. Ptolemy's most important
achievement in it was extending the geometric cinematic model of solar and lunar motion to the
five planets, producing what is now known as the Ptolemaic and geocentric model of the universe.
45
Astrology was considered to be a τέχνη, an art based on rational foundation and accessible to every intelligent
being, not only those blessed with the gift of prophecy (Sambursky 1959: 66; see also Plato Phaedr. 244 c.)
46
Not much is known about the life of Ptolemy but the dates of his observations in the Almagest, a date in one of
his manuscripts and the statement of his scholiast that he flourished under Hadrian and lived until the reign of
Marcus Aurelius suggest that he was born c. AD 100 and died around AD 170 (Toomer 1975:186).
47
Toomer 1975: 187.
48
Ibid.
49
See chapter 3.3.
50
Known in Greek as ἡ μεγάλη σύνταξις or ἡ μεγίστη σύνταξις, transformed into 'al-majistī' by Arabic translators
and from that into 'almagesti' or 'almagestum' by medieval Latin translators (Toomer 1975: 187).
13
That the Almagest was intended from the start to be accompanied by a book on astrological
influences is shown by disproportionate space and effort devoted to the calculation of rising times,
a very important topic for the ancient astrologers but not so much for the astronomers.51 Moreover,
the lack of tables and explanations concerning how to calculate vital points and astronomical
values in the Tetrabiblos could be the result of Ptolemy's assumption that his readers had access to
the Almagest (and/or Handy Tables52) where most of the necessary calculation had already been
explained and presented in convenient tables.53 In addition to the Almagest, Ptolemy produced
treatises on mathematics, geography, optics and music.
As we have seen, Ptolemy's approach to his material, in accordance with his approach to all the
other subjects he engaged in, was highly scientific and excluded the 'arbitrary'. His assiduous
attempts to make the astrological systems fit logical and plausible explanations occasionally ran
into difficulties. For instance, the traditional assignment of Saturn into the diurnal and Mars into
the nocturnal sect of the planets does not accord with the system he is using. 54 Consequently the
explanation that he puts forward is all too obviously his own artificial construction. His need for a
concrete system, not a 'tradition', is even more explicit in the two last chapters of Book 1 dealing
with the disposition of terms. 55 Ptolemy introduces two different systems, called by him the
Egyptian system and the Chaldean system.56 Not being content with the lack of consistency and
logic behind either of the two, he introduces his own system, attributing it to an ancient
manuscript he allegedly found. This reflects the contemporary tendency of appealing to
51
Toomer 1975: 189.
52
Ptolemy supplied all the tables required for astronomical calculations first in the Almagest and then
republished them with some modifications in a work entitled the Handy Tables.
53
Riley 1987: 243-5.
54
Tetr. 1.7.
55
I.e. small divisions of the zodiac, one zodiac sign being divided into five terms. For more detailed information
see Appendix 1 'Terms'.
56
Tetr. 1.20-21.
14
predecessors to give credibility to writings and the general pretence to the high antiquity of one‟s
ideas. There was a continuing demand for older books in the Hellenistic era. As we shall later see,
many (half-) mythological as well as historically known characters and especially schools of
thought were liable to pseudoepigraphic attributions.
In addition to what seems to be Ptolemy's only original contribution to astrology, Riley has
pointed out that 'there is a core of specific doctrines and methods, not to mention an entire area of
forecasting, common to other astrologers, which is not included in the Tetrabiblos'.57 These will
be more closely examined in the next section of this chapter. At the moment it is sufficient to say
that these omissions serve to prove that Ptolemy was a theoretical astrologer, not a practising one.
Indeed, it is notable, that after reading the Tetrabiblos and having learnt all the geometrical and
mathematical models used to analyse the state of the heavens at any given moment, it remains
virtually impossible to cast a real horoscope based on this information. Ptolemy meticulously
deals with technical details but largely neglects the naturally dubious but nevertheless essential
interpretative side of astrology. He never really introduces his reader to the traditional or
'mythical' attributes of the planets; he just mentions them when necessary. In fact, up until the
third chapter of the second book he explains planetary influences solely in terms of the four
humours. 58 Similarly, where others present almost complete lists of detailed outcomes of the
possible aspects that planets and signs can have on each other, Ptolemy is content with rather brief
and incomplete summaries. All this contributes to an understanding that the Tetrabiblos, despite
being hailed as the ultimate astrological book on Hellenistic astrology, does not really reflect the
true nature of astrology or its full state in the second century AD. What it does reflect, however,
and very fortunately so, is a certain scientific style of writing and thought, similar to Aristotle,
Euclid and Archimedes, and the desire to make an 'ancient' and 'puzzling' wisdom fit the Greek
57
Riley 1987: 236
58
Cf. 'Characteristics of the signs according to Vettius Valens' under Appendix 1.
15
scientific formula.
Hence, in the sense of understanding the basic astrological systems that underlie the interpretation
of a nativity, Ptolemy is an excellent starting point – systematic, well structured, and fairly easy to
follow and understand. But for comprehending the intricate inner workings of more practical
astrology, he is, unfortunately, of rather less value.
1.2 VETTIUS VALENS
More insight into the world of practising astrologers can be gained from Vettius Valens'
Anthologiae – the longest, but also the most obscure, ancient astrological text that has survived.
Neugebauer has attempted to reconstruct the timeline of its writing, based on the more than 125
horoscopes cited in the work and concluded that Valens must have written the bulk of the text
between AD 152 and 162, i.e. roughly around the same time as Ptolemy wrote the Tetrabiblos.59 It
must be noted, however, that many changes and supplements were inserted in earlier books by
Valens himself and in some cases perhaps by a later redactor.60
Both the Tetrabiblos and the Anthologiae were, furthermore, written in Alexandria, Egypt. That
allows one to expect that both authors to some extent used the same primary sources. Taking this
59
Approximate dates of books according to Neugebauer (1954): Books 1-2: early 150's or before (I 5 on the
Midheaven is a later insertion); Book 3: 1-13 – early 150's, 14-16 – an insertion from 169/170; Book 4: 1-10
– 156, 11-30 – slightly later than 156 (dif. System of chronocators than the one used in 4.1-10); Book 5:
157/158; Book 6: a late book, perhaps from around 170; Book 7: 1-4 – 173, 5 – 164/5; Book 8: 167; Book 9:
fragmentary, with sections of various dates assignable to earlier chapters.
60
The Anthologiae has not come down to us in its original form but as has happened to many books of practical
usage has undergone interpolation (Boer?: 1872-3). The editions of Kroll and Pingree are both based on
Byzantine Greek manuscripts. Pingree, however, has included some passages of the Eastern tradition of the
Anthologiae into the appendices of his edition. Both the Byzantine and the Arab version appear to point back
to a fifth-century Greek manuscript (Riley n.d.: 21-2).
16
into account, the differences between the two treatises must be carefully examined in order to
form a more accurate and comprehensive picture of early Hellenistic astrology.
The Anthologiae is divided into nine books and covers all the important individual teachings of
Hellenistic astrology. The structure of the work differs from that of the Tetrabiblos: it is organized
according to the categories of questions that might be asked, with heavy stress on the distribution
of the chronocratorships and the related topic of critical years.61
Books 1-3 form a general introduction to astrology. Much of books 1 and 2 contain standard
astrological doctrines and can be paralleled with Ptolemy, Manilius and others. Valens starts by
describing the planets and the zodiacal signs. In comparison with Ptolemy, who at the beginning
primarily describes the seven planets based on their physical characteristics (i.e. hot, cold, dry,
moist); Valens straightaway brings in their mythological aspects as well. 62 Furthermore, the
iatromathematical connections are made clear right at the beginning. In terms of the zodiacal signs,
Valens gives a rather thorough description of each sign,63 presenting alongside its characteristics
also the number and quality of the stars that constitute the constellation and a list of countries that
are under its influence, i.e. the chorography (not for all signs though). The system of the 60
boundaries or terms (ὅπια) that he introduces in the third chapter is the same that Ptolemy
describes as the Egyptian system (in opposition to Chaldean system and his own system). He then
introduces the horoscope, the midheaven, the ascension of the signs, the seeing and hearing signs
(Cf. Ptol. Tetr. 1.15) etc.
61
Riley 1987: 248.
62
For example, for Ptolemy Saturn, being the most distant planet from the Sun, is cold and dry, hence sterile.
Valens does not look for logical characteristics or reasons behind them: he simply states, e.g., what
people born under Saturn are like, what a given planet causes and signifies.
63
See 'Characteristics of signs according to Valens' under Appendix 1.
17
The remaining six books were written after AD 156 and are concerned with the calculation of
length of life and the critical year and with determining the planetary ruler of any given period.64
A preliminary sketch of chronocratorships is given in book 3 but a different and more detailed
method appears in book 4.
There are, as pointed out before, a number of doctrines and methods used by Valens and other
astrologers, which are not included in the Tetrabiblos because of their lack of scientific reasoning.
These include first the 'Elections' or 'Initiatives' (καηαπσαί) and 'Interrogations' (ἐπυηήζειρ) - a
branch of astrology that investigates the influence of momentary or temporary configuration of
the stars on the beginning of some activity. 65 Also omitted are the 'Lots' (κλήποι), i.e. specific
degree positions of the zodiac. These are calculated by using simple counting methods for the
distance between relevant planets and the Ascendant. The Lot of Fortune (κλῆπορ ηςσῆρ) is
commonly used by all ancient astrologers, including Ptolemy, but other Lots (e.g., the Lot of
Daimon, the Lot of Father, the Lot of Mother) are less common. Ptolemy's avoidance of such
methods results in more complicated evaluations of the configurations of the stars with significant
positions in the zodiac.66 Riley has pointed out that Ptolemy requires almost six pages to discuss
such procedures and possibilities, compared to a brief paragraph in Dorotheus. 67 Another method,
used to free the astrologer from analysing the complicated compositions of houses, exaltations,
terms and decans - called the 'Places' (ηόποι) - is also largely missing from the Tetrabiblos.
„Places‟, known in modern astrology as „mundane houses‟, are twelve 30° parts of the zodiac
forming a rotating circle. Each „Place‟ is associated with a certain sphere of life. 68 In addition to
64
Riley n.d.: 6.
65
Riley 1987: 237-8.
66
Riley 1987: 240.
67
Ibid.
68
See Appendix 1 'Places'.
18
these three branches of astrological prediction, Valens uses numerological methods. 69
Comparison of Vettius Valens and Ptolemy allows us to draw some important conclusions about
the mind-set of 'theoretical researchers' like Ptolemy, and that of practising astrologers of the same
period. Despite mostly using the same or similar technical methods of astrology, the differences
between the approaches of these two authors are extensive. Ptolemy's scientific and systematic
approach finds no analogue in Valens. Further, Ptolemy considers both general and
genethlialogical astrology, whereas Valens is primarily concerned only with the latter, i.e. with the
character and lifespan of individual men.
The approach of Valens, in opposition to Ptolemy's strictly theoretical one, is in most cases
severely empirical. Hence, Valens uses real horoscopes as examples and test-cases. Ptolemy, on
the other hand, never mentions an individual's horoscope. This leads to an important distinction,
namely, the target audience. The Tetrabiblos is aimed at the educated upper classes of the Roman
Empire, whereas Valens' book is obviously written to be read only by the professional audience.
The understanding that the Anthologiae was meant as a handbook of practical astrology is further
reinforced by Valens repeatedly addressing a pupil named Marcus70 and warning all his readers to
use their astrological knowledge with caution and not to disclose it to any undeserving parties.
One further very important distinction remains. Unlike in the Tetrabiblos, direct references to, and
citations from, Valens' precursors, often accompanied by his personal opinion about them and/or
their work, are frequent in the Anthologiae, making it an important source for earlier astrological
and astronomical literature. The main purpose of the composition (as the name Anthologiae itself
69
I.e. the periods of the stars and rising times of the signs, which are based on astronomical calculations can be
used as numbers, hence 19 years of the sun may also be 19 months, 19 days or 19 hours.
70
E.g. 281.3, 316.4 and 344.16.
19
suggests) was to render into intelligible language the teachings of the 'ancients'.
1.3 MANILIUS
One of the earliest full astrological texts that has survived is a poem entitled Astronomica by a
Roman poet Manilius. The composition was begun during the reign of Augustus (i.e. before AD
14). Book 4, however, suggests that Tiberius had risen to the throne by the time Manilius finished
his work.71 The Astronomica followed the tradition of rendering Greek science and mythology
into Roman literature. 72 It is a difficult composition: the text is unusually corrupt, the subject
matter highly specialized, and the Latin style bizarre and bewildering - not least due to Manilius'
audacious plan to render diagrams, tables, and maps into hexameter form.73
The Astronomica consists of five books, each starting with a proem in which the author's
philosophy and agenda can be best observed. Book 1 explains the origins and the nature of the
universe, its structure and the celestial bodies therein. Books 2 to 5 introduce basic astrological
terms and methods, most of which can again be paralleled with the Tetrabiblos. This clearly
demonstrates how the basic concepts of horoscopic astrology were laid out by the early first
century AD and little, save more detail, was added later. Nevertheless, that did not stop Manilius
from using the literary topos of claiming absolute originality for himself on the subject matter.74
Like Ptolemy, Manilius mentions no sources.
71
Goold 1977: xii.
72
Lowe 2004: 143.
73
Goold 1977: vii.
74
See Astronomica 1.5-6, 1.113-4, 2.57-60, 3.1-3.
20
1.3.2 Philosophy
As was argued before, the ideas behind astrology were mainly Stoic in essence. Manilius seems to
use many Stoic doctrines to decorate his philosophical environment. Like the Stoics, Manilius saw
God as being the providential ruling force in Nature.75 He writes in 1.247-54:
This fabric which forms the body of the boundless universe, together with its
members composed of nature's divers elements, air and fire, earth and level sea, is
ruled by the force of a divine spirit; by sacred dispensation the deity brings
harmony and governs with hidden purpose, arranging mutual bonds between all
parts, so that each may furnish and receive another's strength and that the whole
may stand fast in kinship despite its variety of forms.76
However, in closer examinations it is evident that as was the case with Ptolemy, Manilius has
likewise modified some of the principal doctrines. Although the Stoic concept of universal
sympathy was an important part of philosophical astrology and is constantly stated in the
Astronomica, Manilius put more emphasis on the God as the all-controlling, all-connecting and
all-determining power. This all-permeating God has made the laws that the whole universe
follows - nothing in the world is random and everything happens according to the predetermined
pattern, i.e. the established rule of fate, 'the plan of the God most high'. Thus he says in 2.80-5:
... This God and all-controlling reason, then, derives earthly beings from the signs
of heaven; though the stars are remote at a far distance, he compels recognition of
their influences, in that they give to the peoples of the world their lives and
destinies and to each man his own character.77
and 4.14-5 reads:
Fate rules the world, all things stand fixed by its immutable laws, and the long
ages are assigned a predestined course of events...
Here the distinction between hard astrology and soft astrology appears in its most vivid form.
75
Sellars 2006: 91
76
See also 2.60-83.
77
See also 3.48-55; 4.888-90.
21
According to hard astrologists like Manilius, everything has been immutably pre-written in the
stars. They support hard determinism and consider stars to be the causes of all that happens on
earth. Soft astrology, on the other hand, does not hold the movements in the firmament as the
causes of the events on earth, but mere signals of things to come. Of course the two versions are
not mutually exclusive and can form a complicated synthesis. The question of hard versus soft
astrology is an important one when thinking about what mentality the authors expected their
audience to have. In the case of Manilius this expectation is perhaps most vividly manifest in his
argument that God can dwell in man and astrology is the quest for the God.
As was argued in the case of Ptolemy, for Manilius too astrology was a tool, a means to an end,
not the objective itself. What then was his objective? Literary grandeur? A political statement?
Manilius has a preference for certain themes, including the immanence and supremacy of reason
and heaven's call to man to elevate himself to godhead.78 Reason is emphasized as something that
distinguishes man from the beasts79 and connects man with the God. He says in 2.105-8:
Who after this can doubt that a link exists between heaven and man, to whom, in
its desire for earth to rise to the stars, gifts outstanding did nature give and the
power of speech and breadth of understanding and a wing-swift mind, and into
whom alone indeed has God come down and dwells, and seeks himself in man's
seeking of him?80
Manilius was definitely writing for the literati of the imperial court81 and his desire to find god in
man could be argued to reflect their intellectual posturing and their search for grandeur. 2.137-44
indicate that the poem was aimed at the superior readers who were 'fated' to receive this sacred
78
Goold 1977: xv. See for example 2.105-135.
79
E.g. 1.95-112.
80
See also 2.115-6, 4.866-935.
81
Tester 1987: 30.
22
knowledge. Manilius wrote during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, i.e. at the times of the
deification of Julius Caesar and Augustus. Wray has argued that Manilius 'explicitly portrays the
imperial rule of Augustus as cosmically ordained by the same fate that rules the motions of the
stars in the heavens and governs every aspect of human life on earth.' 82 However, even if so,
Manilius' could reflect the mentality of the Roman élite in a more general level. It seems that
Manilius saw not only the emperors as the recipients of the godhead, but also himself and other
'chosen ones'. The poem ends (5.740- 45):
There are luminaries of princely rank and stars which come close to this highest
eminence; there are all the grades and privileges of superior orders. But
outnumbering all these is the populace which revolves about heaven's dome: had
nature given it powers consonant with its legions, the very empyrean would be
helpless before its fires, and the whole universe would become embroiled in the
flames of a blazing sky.
This suggests a defence of social order by claiming that 'the natural order of the celestial
population provides a sacred template, which the terrestrial one happens to imitate'. 83 Thus
Manilius created a projection of the political structure into the skies that must have pleased the
contemporary Roman élite. But most of all, he stresses that the divine cosmos is revealing itself to
him in particular and his mission sets him apart from the common crowd.84
1.4 DOROTHEUS OF SIDON
Dorotheus of Sidon wrote an astrological work, nowadays known under the names Pentateuch or
Carmen Astrologicum, in the middle of the first century AD. Seven horoscopes in his text date
from between AD 7 and 43; hence Barton has suggested that Dorotheus was probably writing
82
Wray 2002. http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/1/777777122543/
83
Lowe 2004: 145.
84
Volk 2003: 628. See 2.105-48.
23
between AD 25 and 75.85 His work, like Manilius' Astronomica, was written in verse. There are
two main traditions of this apparently very influential work that have come down to us. Numerous
fragments of Dorotheus have survived in later Greek astrological authors. Hephaistion of Thebes
(5th century AD) says that he derived the material for his second book largely from Ptolemy and
Dorotheus and the third book wholly from the latter's fifth book on horary astrology. 86 Dorotheus
was also one of Firmicus Maternus' sources.87 Nearly 300 additional fragments can be found in
CCAG Vol.VI (1903: 67, 91-113). Only these fragments of Dorotheus' original text were available
until 1976, when David Pingree translated into English an Arabic version of the Pentateuch and
conveniently added to the translation a complete collection of Greek and Latin fragments. 88 The
Arabic version by al-Tabari,89 written some time around AD 800, was based on a third-century
Pahlavi (Persian) translation, the Persian having been revised, with additions from India, in the
late fourth or early fifth century AD.90 Two horoscopes, from 20 October, 281 and 26 February,
381, have been added, as well as a couple of additions from Vettius Valens and references to
Hermes and Qīţeinūs al-Sadwālī.91 There are evidently also quite a number of sections missing
from the Arabic version. This is proved by the quite extensive fragments of another Arabic
translation that was made by Māshāʹallāh in the 770s which includes citations that correspond to
those found in Hephaistion but not in al-Tabari.92
85
Barton 1994: 57.
86
Tester 1987: 80; Barton 1994: 81-2.
87
Barton 1994: 114.
88
Pingree, D. 1976. Dorothei Sidonii Carmen astrologicum: interpretationem arabicam in linguam anglicam
versam una cum Dorothei fragmentis et graecis et latinis. Leipzig.
89
Abû Hafs 'Umar ibn Farrukhân Tabarî, i.e. Omar Tiberiades, as he is known in the Western world.
90
Tester 1987: 156; Pingree 1997: 46.
91
Barton 1994: 114-5; Pingree 1997: 46. Valens' Anthologiae was translated into Pahlavi independently –
Pingree 1997: 47-8.
92
Pingree 1997: 46.
24
The Carmen Astrologicum consists of five books. It is the only surviving work on ancient
astrology that includes illustrations. Book 1 ('From the stars on the judgements concerning
nativities: on the upbringing and condition [of the native]‟) includes chapters on longitude and
latitude and triplicities of signs and their lords, the exaltation of the planets, Places, masculine and
feminine 'hours', Lots of father, mother and brothers, divisions of planets and signs and various
methods to determine the aspects of the early life of the native. Book 2 is dedicated to marriage
and children and, besides the Lot of marriage and wedding, also gives information about the trines
and their planetary aspects, the quartile aspect, opposition, the arrival of planets in the Places and
others' houses. Book 3 is entitled '... the haylāj and the kadhkudāh, which are the governor and the
indicator of the time of the years of life', and Book 4 'On the transfer of years'. Book 5 concerns
the Initiatives/Interrogations (καηαπσαί) 93 and thus offers the methods of answering various
questions that the native might have. This last book offers a unique glimpse on what astrology
offered to an ordinary person. It includes chapters on building and demolishing buildings, buying
and selling things, land, slaves and animals, 'the courtship of a woman, and what occurs between a
wife and her husband when she quarrels and scolds and departs from her house publicly', when to
extract a dead child from a pregnant woman's belly, partnership, and journeys. The general
questions of clients can easily be deduced from these. Some chapters, such as those on freeing
slaves and buying ships, apply only to the richer clients, but generally all stations in life are taken
into account.94 Long chapters on slaves and marriage are especially insightful.
93
The rendering of 'καηαπσαί' into English is complicated. Basically, katarchai, as the name suggests (LSJ
'καηαπσή'), is the method of determining the course of events, illnesses, voyages etc. by looking at the state of
heavens when these events etc. begin. Therefore they have been translated as Initiatives, elections,
Interrogations or Inceptions. There also seems to be a little confusion with 'ἐπυηήζειρ'. I will therefore use
the term katarchai itself to describe this method of forecasting.
94
Barton 1994: 175.
25
Dorotheus is the first known author to have written of the katarchai, which were one of the most
important activities of a practising astrologer 95 and, as was pointed out in the chapter on Vettius
Valens, are not mentioned in the Tetrabiblos. Tester has said that:
While genethlialogy seems to have grown from a rational astronomical basis,

under the influence of Stoic philosophy, the part of astrology that deals with
katarchai has its origins in magic and superstition, and always preserves the
'family face' as it were.96
That the practice itself was a lot older than Dorotheus is shown by a passage from Lucan on
Nigidius Figulus 97 who, according to Lucan, was 'in advance of even the Egyptians in his
knowledge of astrology'.98 This passage (1.651f) describes the state of heaven and its implications
at the outbreak of the Civil War. R.J. Getty has reconstructed the position of the planets in the sky
on the 28th of November 50 BC, i.e. the time when Figulus made his observation and argued that
not Lucan, but Figulus himself deliberately misrepresented astronomical facts in his astrological
prediction 'in order to make them conform with its [i.e. curious and elaborate superstition of
99
astrology] own self-imposed rules for determining the future'. However, leaving the
astronomical and astrological accuracy of the text aside, it successfully demonstrates that the
method of using the position of the stars at the beginning of an event to predict its course was in
use by the middle of the first century BC.
Further, likewise to Valens and contrary to Ptolemy, Dorotheus makes ample use of the Lots,
starting with the Lot of Father iat 1.13 and the Lot of Mother at 1.14. Quite early in the first book,
Dorotheus also introduces Places (i.e. the dodecatropos). Although his system corresponds to
what we find in other authors, he values Places more hierarchically, producing an order from more
95
Tester 1987: 88.
96
Ibid.
97
Lucan 1.639ff.
98
Lucan 1.640-2.
99
Getty 1941: 22.
26
to less powerful.100
As the summary of the contents of Dorotheus' books demonstrates, he covers both the horary as
well as the natal astrology and thus 'offers the earliest full-blown treatise' on astrology.101 Unlike
Manilius and Ptolemy, Dorotheus gets straight to the business of forecasting, avoiding long
introductions to the basics of astrology and the question of its credibility. Like Valens, he is a
practising astrologer. As can be somewhat expected from an astrological textbook, Dorotheus is
not concerned with the philosophical apologia.
The Pentateuch is thus an astrological textbook, aimed at disciples who seek to learn the art of
forecasting. Just as Valens addresses his teachings to Marcus, Dorotheus mentions one Hermes.
The Arabic text starts with an assertion:
This is the first book of Dorotheus the Egyptian, on the judgements concerning
nativities. He chose it and selected it and picked it from the books which were
before him, and he wrote it for his son Hermes. 102
A few lines down one reads:
I have travelled, oh my son, in many cities, and have seen the wondrous things
which are in Egypt and in Babylon, which is in the direction of the Euphrates. I
collected the best of their sayings from the first [authorities] who were before me
like the bees which gather [honey] from trees and all kinds of plants; for from it
there is the honey of medicine.103
Presenting Dorotheus as 'the Egyptian' is a reference to the Hermetic tradition 104 and in
accordance with the assumption that like Ptolemy and Valens, Dorotheus resided in the Mecca of
100
Good Places: 1, 10, 11, 5, 7, 4, 9, bad Places: 3, 2, 8, 'worst of the worst' Places: 6, 12 (Carmen Astrol. 1.5).
101
Barton 1994: 57.
102
Carmen Astrol. 1 pr. 1-2.
103
Carmen Astrol. 1 pr. 4-5.
104
Ibid.
27
Hellenistic astrology – Alexandria. Both the travelling and the claim to have consulted ancient
authorities immediately allow one to draw further parallels with Valens. The travelling and long
search for astrological knowledge in Egypt and Babylonia, two places traditionally associated
with the birth of astral divination in the ancient world, seem to be an important topos in
astrological literature. The next chapter will take a deeper look at this topos.
28
CHAPTER 2
EMERGENCE OF HELLENISTIC ASTROLOGY
Now that we have established the state of astrological knowledge in the first two centuries AD
and demonstrated how the core astrological doctrines were fully developed by that time, we must
look at the origins of these doctrines. Chapter Two will examine when, where, and by whom
Hellenistic astrology was developed.
Since no original material from Hellenistic astrologers who were active before the turn of the
millennium has survived, we have to rely on the references and citations made by later authors.
Here, in the absence of any of these in Ptolemy, Manilius and Dorotheus, Vettius Valens is an
invaluable source. Later authors, especially Firmicus Maternus and Hephaistion of Thebes also
provide us with numerous references and direct quotations. Based on the references, early
astrological works can be grouped into three main categories:105
1. Pseudoepigraphies that go under the names of gods, heroes, kings, high-priests,
philosophers etc.
2. Texts of historically known authors.
3. Anonymous texts and fragments.
The most important of these will now be examined in due order.
105
Gundel & Gundel 1966: 4.
29
2.1 PSEUDOEPIGRAPHIES
2.1.1 Nechepso and Petosiris
Undeniably the most frequently mentioned source is Nechepso (Νεσετῶ) and Petosiris
(Πεηόζιπιρ), often referred to together as „the ancients‟ (οἱ παλαιοί), or Nechepso separately as
„the king‟ (ὁ βαζιλεύρ). They are the pseudonyms 106 of the author(s) of a reference book on
astrology written in Egypt, entitled Astrologumena (Ἀζηπολογούμενα) and dated to around 150-
120 BC. This was written in very obscure iambic senarii and included at least 13 books. 107 Valens
mentions the Book 13 of Nechepso in connection with the Lot of Fortune (58.14-17). However,
the same chapter also refers to Petosiris and his book entitled Definitions (58.22-23). 108 The
remaining fragments of the books and treatises attributed to Nechepso and/or Petosiris were
collected together by E. Riess in Nechepsonis et Petosiridis fragmenta magica (1891).109 These
can be divided into four groups:
1. Those using astral omens as developed by the Egyptians in the Achaemenid and Ptolemaic
periods from Mesopotamian prototypes to give general indications. This type of fragment
comes largely from authors of late antiquity (Hephaistion of Thebes, Proclus, John Lydus)
and represents radical reworkings of the original texts. 110 A long passage from Hephaistion
106
Nechepso was the name of a king in the 26th dynasty (7th cen. BC) and Petosiris of the high priest of Thoth
and a royal secretary whose tomb at Tuna el-Gebel, west of Hermopolis, has been dated to around 320 BC.
Petosiris, meaning 'the gift of Osiris', was, however, a fairly popular name. As there is virtually nothing
known of the king Nechepso, the reasons behind choosing his name as a pseudonym also remain unknown.
Spelling of the name varies in different sources: Necheus, Nechao, Necho, Notopso. Thus, we cannot be sure
if the author(s) of the works had these two individuals in mind or some others (Gundel 1966: 28; Pingree
1974: 547).
107
Vett.Val. 58.16, 316.5.
108
See also 319.19.
109
See Appendix 3 for the list of fragments.
110
Pingree 1974: 547.
30
1.21 allows one to draw connections with Babylonian astral omen texts. 111 Another
passage in Hephaistion (1.23), if it is a genuine quotation, could be the earliest evidence
known to us of a theory of astral influence. However, there is a chance that it was altered
by Hephaistion.112
2. Those derived from a revelation text in which Nechepso the King, guided by Petosiris,
sees a vision that grants him a knowledge of horoscopic truth. These include all the
passages from Vettius Valens, plus some from Firmicus Maternus. The principal
astrological doctrines discussed in this work are the computation of the length of life, the
calculation of the Lot of Fortune, the determination of good and bad times during the
native's life, dangerous or climacteric times, and various aspects of the native's life: travel,
injury, children and death.
3. A treatise on astrological botany for medical purposes and another on decanic medicine.
4. Treatises on numerology. These are of two sorts, both explained in a letter of Petosiris to
King Nechepso. One form uses only the numerical equivalents of the Greek letters of the
enquirer's name; the second also the day of the lunar month and the 'Circle of Petosiris'.113
In addition, Keyser has argued that a passage from Servius suggests there must have been a
treatise or at least a passage in a book dedicated to cometary prognosis based on the heavenly
region of appearance.114 The text of Servius (ad Aen. 10.272) lists six 'types' or 'appearances' of
comets: Hippius, ξιυίας, lampas, cometes, disceus, and Typhon, that allegedly come from
'Avienus' and after which the commentator refers the reader to Campestrus and Petosiris. Keyser
111
Ibid.
112
Pingree 1974: 548.
113
Ibid.
114
Keyser 1994: 625.
31
has demonstrated that this list does not actually come from Auienus, neither is it drawn from a
tradition on which Pliny, Manilius and Seneca115 have based their corresponding lists. Analysing
the geographical entities that Servius Auctus gives predictions for,116 Keyser found that the source
from which he draws must come from around 145-35 BC, which is in accordance with the dating
of Petosiris. 117 It is likely, that the direct source from which Servius Auctus quotes was
Apuleius,118 who in turn could have quoted Campestris whom Servius refers to as a source for
more detailed information.119
That, however, raises a question whether the books of the ancients were direct sources for
Manilius and Ptolemy or whether they too used intermediaries, since the lists of comets are
different in the two authors. The latter seems likely, considering that later authors cannot often tell
the difference between Nechepso and Petosiris.
David Pingree has said that the significance of the fragments of Nechepso-Petosiris
is their illumination of – although in a very fragmentary form – two important

processes of Ptolemaic science: the development of the astral omens that the
Egyptians of the Achaemenid period had derived from Mesopotamia, and the
115
Aristotelian tradition, transmitted to Manilius and Pliny probably by Poseidonios and an unknown author and
to Seneca by Epigenes and Artemidoros, the latter could have been influenced by Poseidonios as well.
(Keyser 1994: 640).
116
Geographial areas mentioned are Persia, Syria, Africa, Egypt, Italy, Spain, Libya, and Ethiopia. 'As the
predictions are political, the regions for which they are made must be as well. This indicates a Greek original
at a time when or a place where Gallia, Macedonia, Hellas, Asia, and Kyrene could be overlooked.'
According to Keyser, this indicates a date around 145-35 BC when 'there were two Spains, to which from
Italia transalpine Gallia was merely an otherwise neglected corridor, Macedonia and Hellas had recently been
broken up into petty provinces, Africa had been formed from Numidia and Carthage, Asia was still a disunity
of multiple, independent principalities, and Kyrene was again united to Egypt under Ptolemy VII' (Keyser
1994: 641-2).
117
See chapter 2.3 for a discussion on dating Nechepso and Petosiris.
118
The name 'Apuleius' is provided by John Lydus who follows the same typology of comets. Keyser argues that
Apuleius could have easily been corrupted to 'Auienus'. (Keyser 1994: 644).
119
Keyser 1994: 644-7.
32
invention of a new science of astrology based on Greek astronomy and physics in
conjunction with Hellenistic mysticism and Egypto-Babylonian divination from
astral omens.120
This brings us to the question of if, and to what extent, astrology was derived from Mesopotamia.
The majority of Greek and Roman sources attributes the discovery of astrology to the Chaldeans.
Interestingly, none of the surviving astrological works gives a hint as to who exactly could be held
responsible for introducing astrology into the West but there appears to be a strong historical
tradition giving credit for this act to none other than Abraham.
2.1.2 Abraham
Vettius Valens mentions Abraham (Ἄβπαμορ) as an astrological authority in 2.28 and 2.29
regarding travelling, referring to him as 'the most wonderful Abraham'.121 Riley122 has argued that
2.29 (Πεπὶ ἀποδημίαρ) is a summary of Abraham and that his terminology differs from the
terminology of Valens. This chapter has allowed him further to deduce that Abraham used a
system of chronocratorships that Valens later adopted. Valens names as his source for Abraham
one Hermippus. 123 Furthermore, Firmicus Maternus considers Abraham an authority on the
positions of the Sun and the Moon and also writes that Abraham has 'shown by similar
calculations', suggesting that his astrological calculations were written down in some form. 124
Abraham is mentioned altogether by 11 Greco-Roman authors from a wide range of literary
genres, including the collection of Greek magical papyri. 125 Earlier mentions occur mainly in the
historical or geographical works, whereas later references can be found in astrological or

120
Pingree 1974: 488.
121
Vett.Val. 91.26.
122
Riley n.d.: 8.
123
It remains inconclusive which Hermippus Valens has in mind. Possibly Hermippus of Beirut (2 nd century AD)
who was the pupil of Philo of Byblos whom Eusebius cites in connection with Abraham at Ev.Praep. 9.19.
124
Siker 1988: 196.
125
Siker 1988: 189-190.
33
philosophical writings.126 He was seen as the forefather of both the Arabian kings and the Jewish
nation but in the Greco-Roman world was probably primarily associated with his astrological
expertise. 127 Some traditions concerning Abraham have been recorded by Eusebius in the
Evangelica Praeparatio. According to Josephus, via Eusebius, Abraham was first mentioned by
Berossus, not by name but in these terms:
In the tenth generation after the flood there was among the Chaldeans a righteous
and great man, experienced also in heavenly things. 128
Abraham is indeed said to have come from Ur Kaśdim or 'Ur of the Chaldees'.129 If Eusebius and
Josephus are right then the earliest reference dates back to around 290 BC. The Babyloniaca of
Berossus, a book on Chaldean history in three volumes, is said to have introduced astrology to the
Greek world, so the close association between Abraham and astrology might originate from there.
Josephus writes about Berossus in the following terms:
My witness here is Berossus, a Chaldean by birth, but known to those who spend
their time in learning, since he himself wrote for the Greek market on astrology
and on the philosophical opinions of the Chaldeans.130
Berossus was exactly the intermediary that Trivedi131 talks about – a foreigner, living in Greek
society (allegedly on the island of Cos), and writing to the Greeks about his native Chaldean
culture in Greek language.
However, returning to Abraham, according to Nicolaus of Damascus132 he ventured from Chaldea
126
Siker 1988: 191-2.
127
Siker 1988: 194.
128
Ev.Praep. 9.16.
129
Genesis 11:27-8, 11:31, 15:7.
130
Against Apion 1.129ff. See 'Beros(s)os von Babylon (680)' in FGrH for more fragments.
131
See Introduction, fn.7.
132
Greek historian and philosopher, born c.64 BC.
34
to Egypt, where he 'associated with the most learned of the Egyptians'.133 Moreover, Josephus says
that Abraham taught the Egyptians arithmetic and astronomy:
For before Abraham's arrival the Egyptians were ignorant of these subjects; for
they passed from the Chaldees into Egypt, and thence came also to the Greeks.
Alexander Polyhistor134 adds the 'Chaldaic art', i.e. astrology, to that list.135 Writings attributing
the introduction of various sciences to the Chaldeans or Egyptians are numerous. Proclus says that
geometry too was first discovered among the Egyptians.136
Artabanus in his Jewish History says that the person who Abraham taught astrology was none
other than the Pharaoh himself.137 Thus, there seems to have been a strong tradition relating how a
Chaldean man came to Egypt and introduced knowledge about astral influences. In Egypt the
sacred art of astrology was studied and developed by the priests and the king. The historical
accuracy of such accounts is naturally highly questionable but the important point is the fact that
it found its way into the official historical records and this suggests that it was a widely accepted
story. However, the presence of specific astrological doctrines associated with Abraham indicates
that there might have been some pseudoepigraphical works written under his name. In addition to
Abraham, other mythological names are connected to different astrological doctrines.
Zoroaster is cited in Anthologiae 9.4 ('Teaching concerning the successful and unsuccessful days
and life in relation to the Moon').138 Zoroastrian influence on Greek thought dates back to late
archaic period.139 Plato and Eudoxus acquired a reputation as having been connected with the
133
Ev.Praep. 9.16.
134
Greek scholar, 1st cen. BC.
135
Ev.Praep. 9.17.
136
On Euclid 411-485.
137
Ev.Praep. 9.18.
138
Vett.Val. 323.18.
139
West 1971: 203, 213-8, 239-42.
35
teachings of the Magi and later, as Momigliano has argued, 'new-fangled speculations gained
prestige from the academic and peripatetic admiration for the wisdom of Zoroaster and, no doubt,
mixed Platonic ideas with those alleged to be Oriental'. 140 Greek total confusion of Chaldean
priests with the Magi and Zoroaster indicates that 'Oriental ideas' were mostly generalities and
that they lacked true insight. Nevertheless, advanced theories were carelessly attributed to the
Chaldeans, Persians, Egyptians etc. Likewise, the name of Zoroaster became the centre of
attraction for any sort of speculation about astrology but nobody really cared to know 'what he
had been or what he had written or truly inspired'.141 Forgeries written under his name, just like all
others under the names of various mythological figures, were most probably the work of the
imagination of the Greeks themselves or Hellenized foreigners. 142 The mystic knowledge of both
the Chaldean priests and the Zoroastrial magi, as well as for example the Indian Brahmans and
Gymnosophists, was part of a general conception of the 'East' as a place where the priestly
authorities were the guardians of special knowledge.143
Further examples of pseudoepigraphies include 'divine Orpheus' who is quoted in the preface of
Anthologiae 9.144 Orion and his unnamed book are cited in the end of 3.2 for the doctrine of the
four angles and the beneficial and not so beneficial parts of the zodiac. 145 Orion is also mentioned
in E.Maass, Comm.in Aratum 47, as writing on eclipses and the seven klimata.146
140
Momigliano 1990: 144.
141
Momigliano 1990: 143-149, at 147.
142
Ibid.
143
Parker 2008: 251-307.
144
Vett.Val. 317.19.
145
Vett.Val. 128.26.
146
Riley n.d.: 10.
36
2.1.3 Asclepius and Hermetic astrology
In addition to the Orient, astrology is closely associated with Egypt and Hermetic tradition.
Asclepius (Ἀζκληπιὸρ) is cited in Vett.Val. 321.7 in connection with the 12 Places described above,
as the complier of the first eight divisions. Riley notes that De Horoscopo of Asclepius is known
and there are two other references that attribute the system of Places to him. However, he suggests
the name could be taken as a general reference to Hermetic astrology, rather than to an
individual.147
A passage in Ps.Manetho indeed connects Hermes, Asclepius and astrology:
Ἐξ αδύηυν ἱεπυν βίβλιυν, βαζιλεῡ Πηολεμαῑε, καὶ κπςθίμυν ζηηλῶν... ἅρ ἤπαηο

πάνζοθορ Ἑπμηρ, ζύμβοςλον πινςηῆρ ζοθίηρ Ἀζκληπιὸν εὑπών...148
From the shrines of holy books, King Ptolemy, and the hidden stelai... which all-
wise Hermes loved, finding Asclepius as his advisor in shrewd wisdom...
Moreover, a certain Hermeias is cited in the heading of 4.27 - Ἄλλυρ ἐκ ηοῦ Σεύθος149 πεπὶ
ἐνιαςηῶν· ἐκ ηοῦ Ἑπμείος ζσολὴ ηὴν ἄθεζιν ποιοῦζα ἀπὸ Ἡλίος ἢ Σελήνηρ ἢ ὡποζκόπος ἢ
κλήπος ηύσηρ - and directily quoted in 4.29 (195.17). Schmidt has interpreted 'ηοῦ Ἑπμείος' as the
'Hermetic material'.150 Clement of Alexandria talks of astrological books of Hermes in Stromata
6.4. Of these books, which are four in number,
147
Riley n.d.: 47.
148
Ps.Manetho, Book 5. F 1.9 in Riess 1892: 331.
149
The meaning of 'Sothic' is also unclear. A fragment of Nechepso and Petosiris in Anecd. Oxon. 3.171
mentions a certain Sousothis. Gundel (1966: 39) has suggested that Sousothis probably means Sesostris but
could perhaps be a variant of Sothis (Σεύθος)?
150
Schmidt in his translation of the contents page of Anthologiae, available at
http://www.starmedia.ne.jp/bookcont/valens.html (accessed May 2010). On the other hand, Riley (n.d.: 47)
has pointed out that a geometrician Hermeias is a participant in Plutarch's Quaes.convivialium 9.2, 738, thus
the identity of this Hermeias remains obscure.
37
one is about the order of the fixed stars that are visible, and another about the
conjunctions and luminous appearances of the sun and moon; and the rest
respecting their risings.151
There are 42 books altogether, 36 of which, containing the whole philosophy of the Egyptians,
must be learned by heart by certain individuals described in Clement's text. The rest of the six
books are medical and can be connected to the iatromathematical beliefs. These alleged 42 books
of Hermes should not be confused with the later Corpus Hermeticum.152 Thus again, alongside the
tradition of Babylonian origin of astrology, there was one of sacred Egyptian books of astrology
and rites. Whether these books once really existed is of secondary importance.
2.2 HISTORICAL AUTHORS
In addition to the works and authors of questionable authenticity are texts of historically known
individuals. Most famous is perhaps Thrasyllus, also an Alexandrian by birth, cited only once in
the Anthologiae as the discoverer of a method for forecasting length of life 153 but known from
Tacitus154 and Suetonius155 as the court astrologer of the Emperor Tiberius. The most cited source
next to Nechepso and Petosiris, however, is Critodemos (Κπιηόδημορ), mentioned by Vettius
Valens no less than 12 times, mainly in connection with doctrines concerning length of life and
the starting point of the vital quadrant. However, a fragment of an unknown epitomist,156 which
gives the summary of the contents of his book Vision (Ὅπαζιρ), allows us to suggest that Valens
151
English translation from http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf02.vi.iv.vi.iv.html.
152
Gundel 1966: 12.
153
Vett.Val. 338.19.
154
Tac. Ann. 6.20.3-22.3.
155
Suet. Tib. 14.
156
CCAG VIII 3, 101, 1 ff.
38
might have taken more from Critodemus than he explicitly acknowledges. 157 Valens mentions
only the Vision, which he criticises for its obscurity and artificiality of style,158 but Hephaistion
also attributes to him a work entitled Table (Πίναξ). 159 Being one of the earliest known
astrological authors, his date is of great interest, especially as it raises some serious problems that
we still have in establishing the chronology of early Hellenistic astrology. Earlier scholars, e.g.
Gundel, have dated Critodemos as far back as 3rd cen. BC.160 Since Critodemus is also cited by the
Elder Pliny, Neugebauer has argued that he must be at least a contemporary of Pliny, i.e. active in
the first century AD. However, analysing the horoscopes from the chapters of Anthologiae that
contain references to him, he found that they can all be dated to the decades around 100 AD, i.e.
after Pliny. This is, as he says, 'in flagrant contradiction to the date before Pliny' and the stylistic
characters of the Visions.161
2.3 DATING
Dating Nechepso and Petosiris and the overall emergence of astrology in its Hellenistic form has
also raised debates in the past, but a date roughly around 150-120 BC has now been generally
agreed. That Hellenistic astrology emerged in Egypt is not in doubt. In Egypt, Peripatetic
influence on the first Ptolemaic kings brought about royal patronage for scientists, leading to the
establishment of the Mouseion and the famous library of Alexandria. Scientific advances made
there were most notable in the fields of medicine, mathematics, mechanics and astronomy 162 but
included too the so-called pseudo-sciences such as astrology. It can be seen that this was indeed
157
Riley x: 9; Gundel 1966: 107.
158
Vett.Val. 142.13 and 316.16.
159
Heph. Apotelesmatica 114.21.
160
Gundel 1966: 106.
161
Neugebauer 1987: 186.
162
Fraser 1972: 336.
39
the case, not merely from the fact that the vast majority of early Hellenistic astrologers can be
connected to Alexandria, but also by the following arguments that concern the matter of dating.
The modern 7-day week is based on astrological considerations and probably evolved sometime
during the 2nd century BC in Alexandria. The first indirect evidence for the astrological week
comes from Tibullus,163 in the first half of the first century BC, who mentions the day of Saturn as
an evil sign.164 The Saturday of the planetary week was considered an unlucky and cursed day for
it stood under the domination of austere and ominous Saturn. 165 The first direct evidence is from
Cassius Dio who gives two competing explanations for its arrangement 166 and says that 'the
custom... of referring the days to the seven stars called planets was instituted by the Egyptians'. 167
A familiarity with three elements was required to create the astrological week: the 24-hour day,
the 'Chaldean order'168 of the seven planets, and the doctrine of the chronocrators. As the Chaldean
order evolved only in the 2nd century BC, the week could not have been invented before that.169 It
is thus likely that astrological week was invented by the Greeks in Egypt during the Ptolemaic
period.170
Secondly, we must return to the Stoics and the early opposition to astrology. Cicero writes in his
account of 'Chaldean genethlialogy' (Div. 2.89):
163
Latin poet and writer of elegies. c. 54-19 BC.
164
Tibullus I.3 lines 18-19. 'Aut ego sum causatus aves aut omnia dira,/ Saturni sacram me tenuisse diem.'
165
Gandz 1948-49: 215-6.
166
i.e. the 'planetary leap' or the 'star polygon' theory and the 'regents of the hour' theory. See 'Week' under
Appendix 1 for the detailed description of these.
167
Cassius Dio 37.17.3-19.3.
168
'Chaldean order' is the order of the seven planets, based on their distance from the earth, that became standard
from the second century BC onwards and was used as a default order in Hellenistic astrology. It runs: Moon,
Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. See Appendix 1 'Zodiac and Planets' for alternative orders.
169
Zerubavel 1989: 14.
170
Richards 1999: 271.
40
They say that the starry circle, which the Greeks call zodiac, contains a power such
that each single part of that circle moves and changes the sky in a different way
according to the positions of all the stars in these and the neighbouring regions at
any time; and they say that that power is modified by the planets, either when they
enter that very part of the circle containing someone's birth, or that part which
possesses some familiarity (coniunctum) or harmony (consentiens) with the birth
sign – they call these triangles and squares.171 For since with the time of year and
seasons such great changes of the sky take place at the approach and withdrawal of
the stars (i.e. planets), and since the sun's power brings about the effects which we
see, they think it is not only plausible but also true that howsoever the atmosphere
is modified so that the births of children are animated and shaped, and by this
force their mentalities, habits, mind, body, action, fortune in life and experience
are fashioned.
Cicero's subsequent critical comments on astrology point out the problems with twins, relative
distance of the planets, the relativity of the earthly locations, weather, genetics and parental
influence, medicine and training, geographical variations etc. 172 All these arguments were,
according to Cicero, originally made by Panaetius and Carneades. They all do, however, suffer
from lack of technical detail and this has led Long to suggest that neither Cicero nor his sources
have much in depth knowledge about the subject. Moreover, Jones draws parallels between
Cicero's example of astrological prediction in De Fato 8.15 - 'if someone was born with the Dog
star rising, that man will not die at sea' - and the Babylonian birth omens and infers that the
'astrology' that Cicero talks about must have been closer to the Babylonian than Hellenistic
astrology.173 The dates of Carneades and Panaetius, c. 213-128 BC and c. 185-110 BC respectively,
allow us to therefore suggest that astral divination in its technically more advanced form had not
yet reached Greece and Rome by the second half of the second century BC but there must have
been developments that raised interest in it in Greek intellectual circles. Further, if such interest
171
Cicero confuses this technical point. In Hellenistic astrology, the triangles are indeed harmonious and
beneficent, but the squares are considered to be disharmonious and maleficent. See Appendix 1 'trine' and
'quartile' for more detailed information.
172
Full survey of these arguments can be found in Long 2006: 135-141. I therefore refrain from describing them
in more detail.
173
Jones 2003: 339.
41
allegedly suddenly increased in the writings of Posidonius, 174 this suggests that more detailed
knowledge of Hellenistic astrology had reached the West around 100 BC. That is in accordance
with the dating of the emergence of horoscopic astrology in Egypt around 150-120 BC. The
Hellenistic form of horoscopic astrology seems then to have been first and foremost the invention
of two men, Nechepso and Petosiris. The next question that arises, concerns the extent to which
this invention was an original Hellenistic accomplishment and how much was inherited or taken
over from Mesopotamian precursors.
174
See pp. 11-12.
42
CHAPTER 3
ORIGINS OF HELLENISTIC ASTROLOGY
There is a general impression then from the Greek sources that astrology originated from
Babylonia. 175 Francesca Rochberg has pointed out, however, that 'in the Hellenistic period
'Oriental wisdom' took on almost fashionable status, and Babylonian (Chaldean), Egyptian, and
Persian (Zoroastrian) traditions – both real and imaginary - became confused within the Greek
context'.176 Thus for some time now, scholars have questioned to what extent the claim about the
origins of Greek astrology is true and if it was not just Hellenistic astrologers' attempt to give
more credibility to their art. It has been argued that since most theories, methods, and the
underlying philosophical rationale of Hellenistic astrology do not resemble those of Babylonian
celestial omens, they are distinctively Hellenistic Greek in origin.177 However, textual sources for
Hellenistic astrology stem largely from the latter half of the Hellenistic period and therefore
reflect the astrology in its most elaborate Greco-Roman form, furthest removed from contacts
with Babylonian celestial divination, 178 making research into the origins of early Hellenistic
astrology rather complicated but not impossible.
This chapter will first give a short overview of Babylonian astrology and will then subsequently
compare it to its Hellenistic counterpart, trying to determine whether it gave simply an original
impetus for the latter to develop or whether it was a direct borrowing. Moreover, it will question
how Babylonian horoscopy was tweaked to fit the needs of the Greco-Roman mentality. In other
175
Further examples include Theophrastus, fr. in Proclus on Plato's Timaeus 285f; Cicero, On Divination 2.97;
Diodorus 2.29.2, 31.3-4.
176
Rochberg-Halton 1984: 115.
177
178
43
words, what was 'Hellenistic' about Hellenistic astrology?
Hellenistic astrology was dependent upon three main components: (a) the existence of the zodiac
with twelve signs of thirty degrees, (b) mathematical and astronomical models that allow the
positions of the celestial bodies to be determined with adequate precision and (c) a deterministic
world-view. Thus, when we look at the emergence of Hellenistic astrology it is also necessary to
look at its philosophical rationale as well as at the emergence of Greek mathematical
astronomy.179
3.1 BABYLONIAN ASTROLOGY
The exact origin of belief in celestial omens in Mesopotamia is uncertain. The Sumerians
definitely watched the sky and named some of the constellations and planets 180 but no omens in
Sumerian are preserved and there is 'no trace of any real astrology in Sumerian sources' as Koch-
Westenholz puts it.181 There are, however, some bilingual Sumerian-Akkadian astrological omen
texts which apparently are all late translations and, like many references in Greek texts to
Babylonian astrology, 'only attest to astrology's pretense to high antiquity'. 182 The Old Babylonian
sources for astrology are few and only concern lunar eclipses. Four tablets are known so far and
although they do not yet use the standard formulary found in later text, they are clearly the
179
The distinction of the terms 'astronomy' and 'astrology' is a wholly modern one, followed here for the sake of
convenience: by the former are meant the mathematical concepts needed for the accurate measurments and
calculations necessary for the horoscopic version of the latter to develop. In Greek texts, the terms
astronomia and astrologia appear interchangeably.
180
See tables 1 and 2.
181
Koch-Westenholz 1995: 33-4, also Hunger and Pingree 1999: 6-7.
182
Koch-Westenholz 1995: 34.
44
prototypes of the later series Enūma Anu Enlil (EAE).183 Some astrological texts have been found
in Boghazköi, modern Turkey. They are written in Hittite, Akkadian and Hurrian and most likely
reflect Babylonian originals of varying dates, ranging from Old Babylonian to c. 1300 BC. 184 This
fragmentary material also hints at a possibly much earlier date for a primitive version of the
EAE.185 Celestial omen texts have also been found in Mari, Emar, Ugarit, Alalah, Qatna, Nuzi and
Susa.
Astrological texts from the Middle Babylonian period are again very meagre, probably due to the
paucity of contemporary sources from Babylonia itself, but the little surviving evidence suggests
that primitive astrology had gained some importance. We know of astrological reports from the
court of Marduk-nadin-ahhe during the second dynasty of Isin186 and of the curses and symbolic
decorations on the kudurru stones which probably represent the deities in their celestial aspects.187
There is also a text from Nippur 188 that contains meteorological omens and could be an
astrological report.189 All this proves that the elaboration of the EAE omens had already begun in
the 2nd half of the 2nd millennium BC.190
The EAE, i.e. astral omen texts organized into a series of tablets, dates to the later half of the Neo-
183
Hunger and Pingree 1999: 7.
184
185
Pingree 1973-74: 118.
186
An Assyrian letter from May 657 (LAS 110+300 [BM 99030]) reads: 'In a report by Ea-mušallim, sent to king
Marduk-nadin-ahhe (1099-1082) is written: 'If a sign occurs in the sky that cannot be cancelled (and) if it
happens to you that rains become scanty, make the king undertake a campaign against the enemy: he will be
victorious whatever (country) he will go to, (and) his days will become long.' (Parpola 2007: 377.) Neumann
and Parpola suggest that the celestial portent alludes to the 1090 BC solar eclipse. (Neumann and Parpola
1987: 178.)
187
Koch-Westenholz 1995: 41 n.3.
188
PBS 2/2 No.123.
189
Koch-Westenholz 1995: 42 n.1.
190
45
Assyrian and the beginning of the Neo-Babylonian periods and forms the bulk of the evidence we
191
have for Babylonian celestial divination. In addition, we have the hemerologies of
Assurbanipal's library and the correspondence (letters and reports) between Assyrian and
Babylonian scholars and the kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal, with numerous references to the
EAE. The predictions are exclusively judical, i.e. relate only to the royal court and the nation. 192
The omina of the EAE can be divided into four categories: (a) the lunar omens (Sin), (b) the solar
omens (Šamaš), (c) the weather omens (Adad) and (d) omens from the stars and the planets (Ištar).
Babylonian omens have an empirical basis, i.e. knowledge about the signs is based on experience:
once it is observed that a sign is followed by a certain event, the same sign is considered to signal
the same event if it ever appears again.193 Almost all omens are formulated in conditional clauses,
consisting of a protasis and an apodosis: 'If x happens, then y happens'.
Early scholars of Hellenistic astrology looked at Babylonian astrology in the context of the EAE
and, though believing that the original impetus for Hellenistic astrology could have come from
Babylonia, failed to see many direct derivations and tended to overemphasize the individual
character of Hellenistic astrology when compared with the judical omens of Babylonia. Aaboe has
admitted that until the publication of Babylonian personal horoscopes by Abraham Sachs in 1952
it was indeed 'possible to build a persuasive case for a Hellenistic origin of personal astrology'.194
Cuneiform evidence for Babylonian personal astrology was scarce until then. Hence the six
published horoscopes, dated to 410 BC, 263 BC, 258 BC, 235 BC, 230 BC, and 142 BC, 195
completely changed the picture and proved that the period of greatest value for a study of the
191
Each of the available cuneiform tablets, however, has its own peculiarities, thus indicating that a standard
version of the EAE was never attained.
192
Pingree 1973-74: 118.
193
194
Aaboe 1991: 281.
195
Even the latest of the six horosopes dates roughly a century earlier than the first known Greek horoscopes
which date to the first century BC (Neugebauer and van Hoesen 1987: v. See also Rochberg 1998.)
46
47
Babylonian contribution to Hellenistic astrology should be the period between 600 and 300 BC
during which important changes in Babylonian celestial sciences took place. The expansions of
the applications of celestial omens came in concordance with developments in the observation of
celestial bodies and gains in astronomical knowledge. 196 According to Koch-Westenholz, 'the
planets and stars came to be seen as meaningful in themselves, imparting their characteristic
qualities by their sheer physical presence at decisive moments of an individual's life, notably his
birth.' 197 Thus far, personal predictions had only existed in physiognomic omens - they were
collected together at the end of second millennium BC in the Śumma alamdimmu. But now
astrology too became more concerned with the individual rather than the state or the king. These
horoscopes represent the first application of celestial prognostication to the individual, and bear
close relation to nativity omens, which were also attested for the first time in late Babylonia. 198 In
addition, the year-beginnings came to be used to determine the nature of the coming year, and
specific relationships between the zodiacal signs and the planets and various terrestrial objects
were developed.199 Perhaps most importantly, the zodiac of twelve times thirty degrees was first
introduced. The question of when this happened has raised some debates in the past but it has now
been accepted that the system of twelve equal signs was invented in Babylonia during the 5th
century BC.200
196
E.g. the development of the 19-year intercalation cycle around 500 BC, in use by 383 BC. The first serious
attempts to devise mathematical programs for predicting lunar and planetary phenomena culminated c. 300
BC in the astronomical tables of Seleucid and Parthian periods.
197
198
Beaulieu and Rochberg 1996: 89.
199
Pingree 1982: 614.
200
Bouché-Leclercq (1899: 57-61) insisted that the zodiac signs came from Babylonia but that the circle itself
was an invention of the Greeks. Boll (1903: 193-4) argued that the zodiac or parts of it (namely Aries and
Sagittarius) could have been introduced to the Greeks by Cleostratus. The exact role of Cleostratus and the
question of who invented the zodiac was debated between Fotheringham and Webb over series of articles
published between 1919 and 1928. Fotheringham argued that knowledge of the zodiac was derived from
48
Another horoscope dated to the Seleucid period was identified in the Yale Babylonian collection
(tablet NCBT 1231) in 1989 and published in 1996 by Beaulieu and Rochberg. The horoscope
belongs to a man named Anu-Bēlš unu, probably from Uruk, born on the 29th of December 248
BC. NCBT 1231 differs from other early horoscopes as the only astronomical data recorded are
the zodiacal longitudes of the moon, the sun and the five planets (i.e. it excludes the usual
material such as the nearest cardinal point of the year) and includes 'predictions' in the form of
omen apodoses following a few of the planetary position entries (in comparison with the example
above in which the predictions come after all the astronomical data has been given).201 Thus it
reflects the integration of personal predictions which parallel to a great extent the nativity omen
apodoses with astronomical data.202 Then Rochberg (1998) published all the known Babylonian
horoscopes to date, 32 texts in total.
All this shows that for centuries before the Hellenistic period, Babylonians had become
accustomed to the association of personal as well as judical predictions with ominous events.
Sachs has said that:
this point, which is trivial to cuneiformists, must be emphasized here because, in

reconstructing the origins of horoscopic astrology, some authors – using only
information about the astrological omen book EAE with its judical predictions –
have set up (and then made deductions from) an oversimplified contrast between
Greek individualism and the alleged complete lack of it in ancient
Babylonia, Webb disagreed with the theory of large-scale Babylonian influence. Finally, van der Waerden
(1952-3: 224-5) presented enough evidence to conclude that the zodiacal belt indeed developed in Babylonia
and 'before 420 BC the system of the 12 zodiacal signs was established with complete clarity and precision'.
This view was further supported by Sachs (1952: 52) and Rochberg (1984: 121). BM36746 (discussed in
more detail later) also provides some evidence on the development of the zodiac since the trine system that it
uses presupposes the zodiac of twelve signs of equal length (Pingree and Hunger 1999: 17). BM36746 most
probably dates to some time after 400 BC (Rochberg-Halton 1984: 118).
201
202
49
Mesopotamia.'203
The following sections of this chapter will try to determine more specific Babylonian elements in
the Greek celestial sciences.
3.2 BABYLONIAN ELEMENTS IN HELLENISTIC ASTROLOGY
All elements of Hellenistic astrology traceable back to Babylonia are of great historical interest.
Let us start with the basics, though. Both the names of the planets and the zodiacal signs in Greek
and Latin are direct derivations from their Babylonian counterparts. Table 1 is designed to show
that the Greek gods have been assigned to the planets according to the Interpretatio Graeca, the
identification of foreign (in this case Babylonian) gods with the local Greek deities. Table 2
compares Babylonian and Greek zodiacal constellations. The four cardinal points, which are
among the most ancient constellations, are marked with an asterisk (*).
CEL. OBJECT MOON MARS MERCURY JUPITER VENUS SATURN SUN
SUMERIAN Nanna Gugalanna Enki204 Enlil Inanna Ninurta Utu
BABYLONIAN Sin Nergal Nabu/Nebu205 Marduk Ishtar Ninurta Shamash
GREEK Selene Ares Hermes Zeus Aphrodite Cronos Helios
Influence206 War Trade Power Fecundity Agriculture
Table 1: planetary gods
203
Sachs 1952: 52.
204
Enki – god of water but also of crafts and mischief.
205
Nebo (or Nabo) - Babylonian god of wisdom and writing.
206
Based on Richards 1999: 280, table 21.2.
50
LATIN ENGLISH SUMERO-BABYLONIAN
Transcription207 Translation
Aries The Ram MUL LUḪUN.GA The Agrarian

Worker
Taurus* The Bull MULGU .AN.NA The Steer of

4
Heaven
Gemini The Twins MULMAŠ.TAB.BA.GAL The Great Twins
.GAL
Cancer The Crab MULAL.LUL The Crayfish
Leo* The Lion MULUR.GU.LA The Lion
Virgo The Virgin MULAB.SIN The Seed-Furrow
Libra The Scales zibanītum The Scales
Scorpio* The Scorpion MULGIR.TAB The Scorpion
Sagittarius Centaur the Archer MULPA.BIL.SAG Nedu 'soldier'
Capricorn* The Sea-Goat ('Goat- MULSUḪUR.MAŠ The Goat-fish

horned')
Aquarius The Water-bearer MULGU.LA The Great One
Pisces Fish MULKUN.MEŠ / The Tails / fish-tail
DU.NU.NU
Table 2: Zodiacal constellations
207
Given are the MUL.APIN names. See Rochberg-Halton 1984: 119 for the development of the names of
zodiacal constellations.
51
In 1984, Francesca Rochberg-Halton published a cuneiform text (BM 36746), a collection of
twelve lunar eclipse omens which she dated to around 400 BC and argued to 'exhibit for the first
time in cuneiform literature forerunners to a number of astrological theories known before only
from Hellenistic Greek sources, and further paralleled in third century Indian astrology' and thus
to form an important transitional source from the lunar eclipse omens of the EAE to the astrology
of later Greco-Roman period.208 In particular, BM 36746 is one of the few cuneiform texts that
combine eclipse omens with zodiacal signs and planetary positions. Further, unlike EAE omens
which make use of only zodiacal constellations, BM 36746 uses zodiacal signs specifically. 209 In
EAE lunar eclipses are rarely combined with solar, planetary or stellar signs, but considered
mostly from the aspects of date, time, duration, appearance (magnitude, colour etc.) and
associated phenomena (wind, weather, earthquakes, stars and planets visible etc.). Thus, in form,
this text is closer to later Hellenistic, as opposed to traditional Babylonian, astrology. 210
Nevertheless, Rochberg argued that 'despite the fact that the omens in BM 36746 are not attested
as such in EAE, each constituent element of the omens can be traced to the traditions of the
codified celestial omen series'.211
The pattern of the omens is as follows:
if a lunar eclipse occurs in zodiacal sign₁ and the night watch comes to an end and
the wind (north, south, east, west) blows, Jupiter (or Venus) is (or: is not) present
and Saturn or Mars stand in zodiacal sign₂ and zodiacal sign₃ respectively.
Each prediction applies to one of the four traditional lands. Namely, the movement of the shadow
across the lunar disc was the most important element for the decision concerning which country
would be affected. The disc was divided into four quadrants, each associated with a country name
208
Rochberg-Halton 1984: 118-120.
209
210
211
52
(Akkad, Subartu, Elam,9 or Amurru212) and the country represented by the quadrant which was
first darkened was expected to suffer the evil announced. The omens in BM36746 are arranged
into four groups of three zodiacal signs each, based on the position or sign of the eclipsed moon in
the zodiac and the position of a (malefic) planet, either Saturn or Mars, which can be paralleled
with the theory of the trine aspect213 (trigons, triplicities) in Greek astrology. Furthermore, the
association of each of the four triplicities with one of the four winds which are synonymous with
the cardinal points which in turn are associated with the schematic regions or the quadrants of the
lunar disc indicate the country affected by the ill portent can be connected with Hellenistic
chorography.214 There is further evidence that the system of triplicities was first applied to the
twelve months in the 7th century BC215 and after that simply transferred to the twelve zodiacal
signs.216 So, all in all, as Rochberg says:
this text, therefore, not only establishes substantive connections between aspects
of late Hellenistic astrological methods and those of post-EAE celestial omens, but
even more importantly, it shows that the basis of some of these methods was
already inherent in the traditions of Babylonian celestial omens.217
Moreover, the tablets from Uruk of the Seleucid period published by Weidner illustrate the origin
in Mesopotamia of certain concepts that became commonplace of Hellenistic and later astrology,
including the exaltation of the planets, the association of terrestrial objects such as trees, plants,
and stones with celestial bodies, presumably for the practice of iatromathematics, and the division
212
Not based on any political entities of the time when Enūma Anu Enlil was written. In the interpretation of the
times, Akkad is equated with Babylonia, Subartu with Assyria, and Amurru with any country in the west
(Hunger and Pingree 1999: 16).
213
See Appendix 1 'trine'.
214
215
See Rochberg-Halton 1984: 128 n.50 for the excerpt of a tablet from EAE. Also Virolleaud 1905-12, 2nd Supp.
19: 9-20; Koch-Westenholz 1995: 244-77.
216
For the examples of equivalence of months and signs see Reiner 1995: 115 n.522.
217
53
of zodiacal sign into twelve equal dodecatemoria.218 These tablets were analysed in more depth by
Rochberg-Halton 1988.
Firstly, the system of planetary exaltations. The concept of the bīt/aš ar níșírtí i.e. the 'house' or
'place of secret', is attested already in the 7 th century BC. The earliest evidence for the ašar níșírtí
of the planets is in the inscriptions of Esarhaddon219 and in a contemporary Babylonian star list
from Sippar.220 According to Hellenistic astrology the exaltations are located in the zodiacal signs
in which the planets have their most potent influence. Esarhaddon's inscription confirms the
meaning of the planetary omen, when located in the ašar níșírtí, as particularly favourable.
Following table demonstrates that the locations of exaltations in Hellenistic astrology are based on
the Babylonian ašar níșírtí.221
PLANET ašar níșírtí222 HYPSOMA, i.e. EXALTATIONS
Sun Aries (19°) Aries
Moon Pleiades (Taurus) (3°) Taurus
Jupiter Cancer (15°) Cancer
Venus Pisces/Leo (27°) Pisces
Saturn Libra (21°) Libra
Mercury Virgo (15°) Virgo
Mars Capricorn (28°) Capricorn
Table 3: ašar níșírtí and exaltations
218
Pingree 1982: 621.
219
Ass. A 8 39-ii 8.
220
Rochberg-Halton 1988: 53-57; Koch-Westenholz 1995: 52.
221
Ptolemy gives an account for the signs of exaltations in Tetr. I.19 but it appears to be his own attempt to find
some logic behind these seemingly random points.
222
54
Secondly, the dodecatemoria, which is the subdivision of a thirty degree sign into twelve two and
a half degree segments, each assigned to a planet. The earliest textual evidence for such 'micro-
zodiac' comes from Seleucid period and a graphic representation may be seen in a number of
tablets from Uruk.223 The twelve parts are further associated with a city, some plants, trees, and
stones, written in corresponding register below those of the dodecatemoria. Some of the same
associations of celestial with terrestrial elements can be found in Hellenistic Greek astrology.224
In addition, the parallels between Babylonian omens and Hellenistic popular astrology pertaining
to earthquakes and thunder are striking.225 Eclipse and comets as main omens, supplemented by
wind-directions, shooting stars, halos, thunder, lightning, and rain in Hephaistion of Thebes and
John Lydus bear further close affinities with omens in EAE. 226 The remarkably accurate
transmission of Enuma elish down to about 500 AD, as recorded by Damascius, also testifies to
the tenacity of Babylonian tradition.227
3.3 ASTRONOMY AND MATHEMATICS
This section on Babylonian elements in Greek astronomy and mathematics serves two purposes.
First, astronomy had an enormous influence on astrology and sufficient similarities are evident to
confirm the spread of Babylonian astral omens concomitantly with astronomy. 228 Secondly,
tracing which astronomical and mathematical tools were used by Hellenistic astrologers is part of
the question of what was Hellenistic about Hellenistic astrology.
223
224
225
See Bezold and Boll 1911: 45ff.
226
Bezold and Boll 1911: 51.
227
228
Pingree 1982: 625.
55
The decipherment and meticulous study of the cuneiform sources have revealed that while the
achievements of those Greeks who devised cinematic astronomy was great, it nevertheless
depended on the adoption of certain key Babylonian parameters.229 David Pingree has suggested
that the earliest transfer of scientific knowledge between Babylonia and Greece could have taken
place already during the Neo-Assyrian period (934-609 BC), when it is possible that the Ionians
learned of the gnomon and probably some scheme of the shadow-lengths. 230 During the
Achaemenid period the Metonic cycle231 was imported into Greece and the zodiac and the use of
its sexagesimal parts also found its way into the Greek astronomy. 232 Neugebauer has argued that
Babylonian influence is best visible in contributing basic empirical material for Greek
trigonometric theories and in a direct continuation of arithmetical methods. Hipparchus was
familiar with at least the empirical foundations of the Babylonian theory of ephemerides
(Berossus could again have been the intermediary) and a direct development of the Babylonian
arithmetical methods can be observed in Greek papyri and astrological literature. 233 Ephemerides
are tables of values that tabulate the moments and positions of the sequences of isolated
astronomical phenomena (e.g. the new moon, the stationary points of a planet) in their natural
order. They date back to the second millennium BC. The attention paid by Babylonian astrologers
to specific events is in marked contrast to Greek attempts to determine the longitude of the
celestial bodies as a continuous function of time.234 The ephemerides use two slightly differing
types of arithmetic models: System A and System B. According to Neugebauer, the first 'uses
229
Brown 2007: 468.
230
Pingree 1982: 616.
231
The Metonic cycle is a fairly accurate short intercalation cycle called after Meton who is supposed to have
proposed it in Athens in 431 BC. This cycle was, however, an achievent of Babylonian astronomy and
formed the basis of the Babylonian civil calendar from 482 BC onwards (Pingree 1982: 619). West (1971:
283), however, holds the Greek version to be an independent development.
232
Pingree 1982: 619.
233
Neugebauer 1952: 142-3, 151.
234
Neugebauer 1975:373.
56
synodic arcs which have constant values on fixed arcs of ecliptic, changing these values
discontinuously at the boundaries of these arcs', whereas the second 'operates with synodic arcs
which form alternatingly increasing and decreasing arithmetical progressions such that their
values lie on a linear zig-zag function when plotted against equidistant points which count the
number n of consecutive occurrences'.235 In simpler words: System A is based on step functions
while System B uses linear zig-zag functions. The two systems also disagree on where to place
the vernal equinox. The vernal equinox in System A is located at 10° Aries, in System B at 8°
Aries. System A, as opposed to the more common system B was allegedly used by Berossus,
Epigenes and Petosiris.236
The Babylonian zig-zag function, 237 using geometrical progressions at the extremes, for
determining the length of time between sunset and moonset in the first half of the month and that
between sunset and moonrise in the second half was used by Vettius Valens. In addition, two
modified schemes can be found in Pliny 238 of which one is related to a scheme ascribed to
Zoroaster 239 in the Geoponica. 240 Valens, overall, is an important source not only for earlier
astrologers but also for early astronomy. A useful reference is made to Hypsikles, a Hellenistic
astronomer and mathematician who lived in Alexandria around 175 BC.241 To him is attributed a
work on the rising-times of constellations, entitled Anaphorikos. This is the first known Greek
work in which the ecliptic is divided into 360 degrees. Futhermore, it presents an interesting
intermediate piece between Babylonian and Hellenistic astronomy since Hypsicles is not yet using
235
Ibid.
236
Neugebauer 1950: 2.
237
E.g., EAE, Tablet 14.
238
Hist.Naturalis 2.58, 18.324.
239
Zoroaster is referred to in Vett.Val. 9.4, concerning successful and unsuccessful days and life in relation to the
Moon.
240
Pingree 1982: 622, 629 n.62.
241
The date is based on his composition of Book 14 of „Euclid‟'s Elements.
57
the trigonometric tools of the Ptolemaic period. Instead, he is using spikes linear functions, i.e. the
same functions that Babylonians used to calculate their ephemerides. The absence of geometrical
concepts characterizes a large part of Babylonian mathematics and astronomy. Babylonians used
purely arithmetic methods, no geometrical pictures or models.242
All in all, the mathematical and astronomical models necessary for Hellenistic astrology to
develop were with great probability essentially Babylonian products.
3.4 PHILOSOPHY
We have already seen how two elements that the Hellenistic astrology presupposes – the 12 x 30°
zodiac and sufficient knowledge of mathematical astronomy – were present in Babylonia during
the first half of the first millennium. The third – a determinist world view – will now be examined.
This section will thus compare the rationale behind Babylonian and Hellenistic astrology, the
latter having already been laid out in Chapter One. David Pingree has argued that astrology in its
Hellenistic and modern form 'presupposes a geocentric and finite universe'. 243 It therefore cannot
antedate the Hellenistic period as it is dependent upon the Aristotelian theory of seven concentric
planetary spheres, the sphere of the fixed stars and the sublunar realm of the static earth. 244 As
Chapter One demonstrated, the philosophy behind Hellenistic astrology was primarily based on
Stoic and Peripatetic doctrines. From that point of view, astrology cannot originate from
Babylonia and the early proto-horoscopes discovered by Sachs are not really horoscopes in the
Hellenistic or modern sense. I would not, however, define astrology so strictly. Essentially it is
prognostication on the basis of celestial events.
242
243
Pingree url1: 118.
244
58
Hunger and Pingree write that in ancient Mesopotamia:
... the gods send the signs; but what these signs announce is not unavoidable fate.
A sign in a Babylonian text is not an absolute cause of a coming event, but a
warning. By appropriate actions one can prevent the predicted event from
happening. The idea of determinism is not inherent in this concept of sign. 245
By 'appropriate actions' are meant the rites were called nam-búr-bi246 in Sumerian and namburbû
in Akkadian and which were believed to have been devised by the god Ea.247
Tablet K2848, published by Oppenheim in 1974, illustrates this point as well as the
interrelatedness of the sky and earth in Babylonian cosmology:
38 The signs on the earth just as those in the sky give us signals.
39 Sky and earth both produce portents.
40 Though appearing separately, they are not separate (because) sky and earth
are related.
41 A sign that portends evil in the sky is (also) evil on earth.
42 One that portends evil on earth is evil in the sky.
This text probably comes from the time of the last Sargonid kings, i.e towards the end of the
seventh century BC, and in the words of Oppenheim, 'witnesses the vigour which created a
plethora of new forms and methods of divination'.248
Rochberg sees a strong opposition between these Babylonian celestial signs (provided by a deity)
and Greek mechanical theory of physical causality described in chapter 1.1.2. 249 Other underlying
philosophical explanations for astrology also appear to be Hellenistic (with the possible exception
245
246
Meaning 'its (i.e. the announced evil's) loosening'.
247
Hunger and Pingree 1999:6.
248
Oppenheim 1974: 203-4.
249
59
of the theory of the Great Year and the recurring world ages (see n.31). There is no cuneiform
evidence that Greek microcosm-macrocosm analogy had a Babylonian parallel.250 The analogy
implies that man's soul is a reflection of the cosmic soul and thus provides the rationale for direct
stellar influence on society and the individual. It can be traced back to Democritus (c.460-400 BC)
and Diogenes of Apollonia (5th century BC) but could be older.251 The philosophical rationale thus
seems to have been based on Greek ideas.
250
251
Guthrie 1965: 471.
60
CONCLUSION
It is to be expected that different cultures should be mutually influenced when they come into
contact with each other. Any contact always involves some degree of translation. This translation
does not merely work at the level of language and linguistics; in the broader sense of the term, it
also incorporates the communication of ideas and knowledge which are rendered understandable,
or „translated‟, to the recipient culture by using their own intellectual and cultural concepts. It is,
for example, senseless to explain to someone who has never come to contact with the
conveniences of the modern world what Facebook is or how an iPod works using English
technical jargon - or alternatively to try teaching twelve-year-olds, or in fact a modern person of
any age, the intricate workings of Hellenistic astrology in, say, forty-five minutes! Although they
are most probably familiar with the concept of astrology, know the names of planets and which
sign of the zodiac they were born under, the majority of contemporary people lack the
understanding of even the basic principles on which the predictions are based. Hence, even the
most assiduous attempts to explain the rationale behind Hellenistic astrology and its basic
technical methods will almost inevitably result in major generalizations and at least minor flaws
in their newly-gained knowledge. This dissertation was designed to discover what happens if
these flaws or 'mistranslations' in what can be termed 'alien knowledge' appear in the wider cross-
cultural context of Hellenistic society.
Already in the first written texts on astrology that have survived, astrology appears as a
standardized set of principal doctrines.252 The most important of these include the division of the
252
This does not mean that astrology did not change and evolve further over time. Methods for the calculation of,
for example, length of life were constantly re-examined and developed. I am only enlisting the main technical
and geometrical principles that were used as the basis for more complicated methods.
61
planets, stars and signs into different categories, the four cardinal points (especially the
ascendant/horoscopus), the geometrical aspects (opposition, trine, quartile and sextile), houses,
exaltations and depressions, smaller divisions of the zodiac (e.g. terms, dodecatemoria), the Lots
and the Places. Since Ptolemy introduces his readers only to the first two of the four broad
categories into which astrology in its Hellenistic form can be divided, namely (a) geneathological
and (b) general astrology, he excluded the last two to a large extent. Vettius Valens and Dorotheus
of Sidon add to the list (c) catarchic astrology, i.e. the determination of whether or not a particular
moment is suitable for the undertaking of a particular act based on the state of heavens at that very
moment, and (d) the interrogatory astrology, i.e. the answering of specific questions on the basis
of the situation of the heavens at the time of the query.
The invention of such astrology is held to have been dependent upon the existence the twelve by
thirty degree zodiac, the mathematical and astronomical models that allow the positions of the
celestial bodies to be determined with adequate precision, and the determinist world-view.
Abraham Sachs has demonstrated that it can scarcely be doubted that 'the belief that celestial
events can be used systematically to predict the future (judical celestial omina), the belief that
predictions can be made for individual's future (physiognomic omina), and the existence of the
zodiac - were to be found par excellence in Babylonia by the 5 th century BC.'253 The horoscopes
that he published prove that important changes took place in Babylonian celestial sciences
between 600 and 300 BC which led to the formation of early horoscopy. Further parallels between
Babylonian astrological texts and Hellenistic methods were pointed out in Chapter Three that
allow one to conclude with considerable certainty that Hellenistic astrology (both in its universal
and genethialogical form254) had its origin in Babylonia. It undeniably stemmed from a more or
less active transfer of knowledge between Mesopotamia and Hellenistic world. Although this fact
253
Sachs 1052: 51.
254
See chapter 1.4.1 for catarchic astrology.
62
has now been established, the medium and ways in which this cross-cultural penetration took
place remain rather obscure. It is not known exactly when and how the Babylonian tradition was
transmitted, but it is natural to assume that contact was established during the time of the Persian
Empire. A demotic papyrus which has been dated to the end of second or early third century AD
has been shown by Parker to have been based on an original of around 500 BC and constitutes the
earliest evidence for the spread of Mesopotamian lunar omens to Egypt. 255 Echoes of classical
Babylonian omen astrology may not only be found in Egyptian, Greek, and Latin writings, but
also in Indian astrology and even in Aramaic literature of the Byzantine period. 256 Pingree has
mentioned a number of texts in various languages which contain 'a curious mixture of astral
omens of ultimately Babylonian origin with Hellenistic and Roman astrology', the detailed
analysis of which could provide us with more insight into the spread of astrological ideas. 257
On the other hand, Hellenistic astrology was not taken over from Babylonia per se. Some modern
scholars are in agreement that Hellenistic astrology was an invention on its own right, arguing that
'despite the presence of 'Babylonian' elements, the philosophical rationale of Greek astrology, and
its doctrine of interpretation, are all Hellenistic Greek in origin and explicable only in terms of
Greek tradition itself'.258 Indeed, not very much more than a relatively crude horoscopic astrology
can have emerged from Babylonia, and cuneiform evidence confirms the transmission of only a
very few doctrines, discussed in Chapter Three, of Babylonian celestial omen astrology to the
Greeks.259 The philosophical rationale, based mainly on Stoic and Peripatetic doctrines, seems to
be completely Greek in essence.
255
Williams 1966: 68. The papyrus has been published and analysed by Parker, R.A. 1959. A Vienna Demotic
Papyrus on Eclipse-and Lunar-omina, Providence.
256
257
Pingree 1982: 620.
258
259
Rochberg-Halton 1988: 51, 61-2.
63
Of course, recent scholarship has shown early Greek science and philosophy to have been heavily
dependent upon Mesopotamian sources. However, even if Greek philosophy was formed in an
oriental mould, it is of secondary importance here. It is obvious that the Hellenistic world made
essential contributions to the more refined and expanded forms of astrology.260 Thus, Hellenistic
astrology was an assimilation and invention at the same time, an interesting cultural hybridization.
This is consistent with wider historical and cultural movements. The diffusion of knowledge
during the Hellenistic period must have occurred on a large scale and in multiple directions. 261
From what we learn from astrology, Hellenistic tradition responded to its own cultural expansion
by presenting as foreign ideas and concepts that were Greek or Hellenistic in essence, and at the
same time altered and improved originally (e.g.) Chaldean, Egyptian ideas to make them fit Greek
intellectual and cultural needs. The study of the reasons behind this phenomenon is unfortunately
beyond the scope of this dissertation.
Ptolemy's work is a good example of how Greco-Roman science of the post-Hellenistic period
successfully and open-handedly incorporated ideas, which were considered irrational and
mythical by many, simply in the pretence that they were old and oriental. Momigliano argues that:
... the most obvious historical consequence of the subordination of Greek thought
to Oriental wisdom... is the change from the acquisition of truth through reason to
the acquisition of truth through revelation.262
Although in Ptolemy one can sense the desire to make an 'ancient' and 'puzzling' wisdom fit the
Greek scientific formula, in other astrological authors the readiness to adopt beliefs on the
grounds of their oriental origin is obvious. As Rochberg has pointed out, in Hellenistic times
'Oriental wisdom' took on an almost fashionable status. Relations between the real and imaginary
were complex. It appears that the flaws in the translation did not let themselves be corrected by
260
Sachs 1952: 53.
261
Van der Sluijs 2005: 3.
262
Momigliano 1990: 147.
64
the reality. Parker has observed a similar situation in the Roman conception of India, which of
course stemmed from traditions that were defined and demarked in the Hellenistic era and before.
India in the Roman imagination, he argues, can be viewed as a cultural concept, a scenario. 263 The
same applies to Chaldea and through that to astrology.
263
Parker 2008: 308-11.
65
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HELLENISTIC ASTROLOGY

A dissertation submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of

Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity

This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third

Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in

1.1.3 Agenda and method ................................................................................................................ 13

1.2 VETTIUS VALENS ........................................................................................................ 16

1.2.2 Agenda and method ................................................................................................................ 19

1.3 MANILIUS ..................................................................................................................... 20

1.3.3 Agenda and method ................................................................................................................ 22

1.4 DOROTHEUS OF SIDON ............................................................................................. 23

1.4.2 Agenda and method ................................................................................................................ 27

2.1.2 Abraham .................................................................................................................................. 33

2.1.3 Asclepius and Hermetic astrology .......................................................................................... 37

2.2 HISTORICAL AUTHORS ............................................................................................. 38

BNJ Worthington, I (ed.), 2007-date, Brill’s New Jacoby , online: Brill

JHS Journal of Hellenic Studies

JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies

most notably astrology in its various forms.

studies, political science, literary studies, anthropology, in somewhat divergent meanings,

in the intriguing phenomenon of 'mistranslation'.

the Tetrabiblos of Claudius Ptolemy, Anthologiae of Vettius Valens, Astronomica of Marcus

Manilius and Carmen Astrologicum of Dorotheus of Sidon. Unfortunately, no complete

addition, several appendices have been attached to the dissertation on a memory-stick.11

of astrological knowledge in the second century AD.

1.1.1 Structure and content

descriptions of these principles can be found under Appendix 1.

to the quarters and the atmospheric signs.

accidentals', such as material fortune, marriage, and children.

popularisation of astral divination. Cumont argues that:

More of a theologian than a philosopher, in mind more learned than critical, he

philosophical astrology and was constantly cited by Manilius.'28

1.1.3 Agenda and method

Almagest 50 (written around AD 150), a manual of ancient mathematical astronomy, which

treatises on mathematics, geography, optics and music.

manuscript he allegedly found. This reflects the contemporary tendency of appealing to

thought were liable to pseudoepigraphic attributions.

astrology, he is, unfortunately, of rather less value.

1.2 VETTIUS VALENS

Valens himself and in some cases perhaps by a later redactor.60

form a more accurate and comprehensive picture of early Hellenistic astrology.

1.2.1 Structure and content

of the chronocratorships and the related topic of critical years.61

(Cf. Ptol. Tetr. 1.15) etc.

method appears in book 4.

branch of astrology that investigates the influence of momentary or temporary configuration of

1.2.2 Agenda and method

character and lifespan of individual men.

1.3.1 Structure and content

Like Ptolemy, Manilius mentions no sources.

God as being the providential ruling force in Nature.75 He writes in 1.247-54:

and 4.14-5 reads:

1.3.3 Agenda and method

'chosen ones'. The poem ends (5.740- 45):

1.4 DOROTHEUS OF SIDON

those found in Hephaistion but not in al-Tabari.92

While genethlialogy seems to have grown from a rational astronomical basis,

use by the middle of the first century BC.

practising astrologer. As can be somewhat expected from an astrological textbook, Dorotheus is

not concerned with the philosophical apologia.

1.4.2 Agenda and method

The Arabic text starts with an assertion:

A few lines down one reads: